Boruto Gaiden: The Beginning of the Crimson Spring
by JacobKingston10
Summary: By the time they realized they were wrong, it was too late. Now Sasuke is missing and neither Naruto nor Sakura know what might have happened to him. Amidst the chaos of a revamped Chūnin Exams, and under pressure from his peers, Naruto finds himself unable to go to Sasuke's aid. It may be up to his son, Boruto, to lead the charge against a new threat growing in the darkness.
1. Prologue: There Will Be Frost

Kaguya Ōtsutsuki's icy retreat was beginning to become like a second home to Sasuke Uchiha. This visit marked the fourth time he had been in the dimension, though it was only the first time since Momoshiki and Kinshiki Ōtsutsuki had nearly destroyed the Leaf Village. He thought he'd had everything figured out. He thought. He _thought_. But there was still this feeling... This feeling of impending doom and it was making him restless. At home, even surrounded by the affections of his wife and daughter, he couldn't find peace. Eventually, he couldn't take it anymore. He had to see. Had to _know_.

Kaguya's palace was situated on a bluff overlooking an icy ravine. Sasuke remembered having first laid eyes on it mere moments after Kaguya transported them into the snow world years ago during that fateful battle. It was odd, he thought. Why have a palace in a barren world where there was nothing to rule? It was hardly oceanfront property, after all, and yet Kaguya had constructed a full palace, complete with living quarters in the polar regions of the dimension. The more he thought about it, the more the pit in his stomach grew.

 _Perhaps_ , he thought. _The location of this palace is a clue..._

The icy realm wasn't the only location Kaguya had set up shop. The volcanic dimension she had first brought them (he and the rest of the former Team 7) to had a similarly designed structure situated on the downward slope of a very active volcano—an even less desirable location, in all honesty. He suspected every one of her dimensions had at least one fortress in them, even though he had only personally seen two.

He shook his head of the thought for a moment. He had arrived. The frozen archway that lead into Kaguya's frigid castle of horrors was just ahead. Using his Rinnegan, he scanned the area for odd fluctuations of chakra. During his last visit here, such a fluctuation led him to the discovery of a scroll that documented Kaguya's struggle with Kinshiki and Momoshiki. Her two fellow Ōtsutsuki were her rivals in obtaining the fruits of the God Trees spread across the universe, each of which granted both parties immeasurable power. He had initially thought her paranoia about their impending arrival was what caused her to unleash the Infinite Tsukuyomi and create a White Zetsu Army. There was just one problem with that theory.

"What took them so long?" Sasuke murmured his thought aloud.

That singular thought had plagued him ever since the scroll had been translated. Kaguya had arrived on the Earth some thousand or more years ago. If she was aware of them, and they of her, why did they wait so long? There was an answer, he knew, though it wasn't very pleasant to consider. The thought that maybe, just maybe, they weren't as concerned about each other as he and Naruto had initially believed. Yeah. Perhaps they were each preparing for something else...

Something worse.

He ascended a long, winding stairwell into the library where he had initially found Kaguya's scroll. The shelves of this library were empty, save for the ice that had accumulated on them. He had found the scroll underneath a block of frozen stone during his last venture, but, scanning the room with his Rinnegan, he could not locate a similar chakra pulse that would give away the location of another scroll.

He sighed, exhaling a puff of visible breath into the air.

Closing his eyes, he began to pour over what he knew once again. This time, though, another thought bubbled up from somewhere amongst the darkness in his mind. Castles weren't just places of power, where rulers oversaw their territory... They were also staging points for battle and defensive encampments. Suddenly, everything began to click together in Sasuke's mind. The army, the God Tree, the White Zetsu, the castles... all of it! Despite the unbearable cold, beads of sweat began to glisten on Sasuke's forehead. Kaguya _was_ preparing for something, but, given their display during the last battle, Momoshiki and Kinshiki _weren't_ it. It was something else. Something multi-dimensional... and dangerous!

As if on cue, Sasuke's head snapped up as he became aware of a massive chakra coming out of nowhere. He rushed to the window carved out of the castle's ice walls to get a better view. Kaguya's icy dimension rarely saw the light of its sun, as the weather was constantly overcast, but Sasuke didn't need the sun to see the new arrival. The clouds above had significantly darkened—just a patch of them, but a _large_ patch. The amounts of chakra radiating from the shadowy thing were causing Sasuke to sweat even more. He didn't even feel the biting winds on his exposed skin any longer. No, now he felt like the temperature of the sun.

Thinking fast, he used his Rinnegan to vanish and appear on an icy plateau someways below the castle. From there, he looked straight up to get a better view of the newcomer. Whatever it was, it still hadn't broke free of the cloud coverage, but it would soon. It was coming—the continual darkening of the clouds was proof—and it was coming _fast_. For a split instant, Sasuke considered retreating and returning home to inform Naruto of the danger. But the instant passed and so too did his opportunity for escape. A dark shadow blanketed him and he suddenly realized that whatever had been above the clouds had descended on him rapidly while he was zoned out considering his options. His hand grasped the hilt of his sword just as the sky-thing made contact with the plateau.

The ground gave way beneath them and it took Sasuke a few moments to realize that the ground beneath him was gone and that he was airborne. Everything simply happened too fast. Now the shadow was above him again, and closing in.

He cursed: " _Shit!_ "

And fell forever.

* * *

 **A/N:** This is the beginning of a new series, the length of which will be determined by audience interest in the story. The tale is set a year after _Boruto: Naruto the Movie_ and will be  ignoring the new _Boruto: Naruto Next Generations_ manga (I want to spread my wings and do my own thing, ya know?). Unfortunately, this site only lets me tag a story with two tags, so Drama and Suspense took the cake, however, you should be aware that elements of Adventure, Supernatural, Horror, and Romance will also be weaved into this story. This story is rated T for violence as well as for some course language. The old cast will be returning, but be aware that some new, original characters will also be appearing in this story.

All in all, I do hope you enjoy, and remember, always leave comments. Feedback is important to me as a developing writer. I don't bite, I promise.


	2. Boruto Uzumaki

"That concludes our mission for today," Konohamaru Sarutobi said to his three less-than-amused pupils. "Once we report to Lord Hokage, you'll be dismissed for today."

Boruto Uzumaki exhaled a sigh of relief. Being a Genin was probably the most boring profession on the face of the planet—of that, he was certain. Day in and day out, he and the rest of his teammates toiled away locating people's lost pets, recapturing zoo animals, spying on people's unruly neighbors, and he was getting just about sick of it. He longed to get _real_ missions. Ones that required them to leave the village for a day or seven and return sweaty and battle-scarred. That opportunity never arose, though, partially because the higher-ups forbade Genin from embarking on dangerous assignments.

The other part was due to peacetime.

The Five Great Shinobi Nations were officially at peace. All five Kage were currently old war buddies who fought alongside each other against the evil Madara Uchiha; short of an assassination attempt, war wasn't likely to ever break out between them. In this modern age, it was the smaller nations and roaming bands of missing-nin that caused the bulk of the Shinobi World's issues. Unfortunately for genin like Boruto, there were plenty of jōnin to cover those types of missions.

Team Konohamaru traveled together down the central-most street of Konohagakure. The evening sun was setting behind them, bathing the village in hues of orange and red. All around them, the citizens of the village went about their daily lives, enjoying the natural peace of the village. It was almost as though, Boruto thought, they had all forgotten the devastation those two aliens, Momoshiki and Kinshiki, had wrought upon the village not even a year ago. He hadn't forgotten, though. How could he? That day had marked both his greatest shame and his greatest triumph. He had saved his dad, the Hokage, his mentor, _and_ the village. Every time he thought about it, his chest warmed up.

But...

But saving the village didn't erase his failure: cheating during the Chūnin Exams. Few in the village had forgotten that little stunt of his either, and while most were grateful for his involvement in rescuing the Hokage and defeating the invaders, there were still some who mocked him for his all-time-biggest-screw-up. He could always pick _those_ faces out of any crowd. They'd make eye-contact with him and then go about whispering and snickering to the person nearest them, as if he couldn't see them making fun of him. It pissed him off. Like the ladies standing a little off to the left, near the railing of the bridge that passed right over the Naka River. They clearly saw him, and he _definitely_ saw them looking at him—giggling, laughing, whispering amongst themselves.

He turned away angrily. Who the hell were they, anyways? Hadn't they ever made a mistake? Hadn't they ever wanted to earn forgiveness?

 _Whatever,_ he thought. _Who needs their forgiveness, anyways?_

He did.

He did and he knew it. He needed their forgiveness because he finally knew what it felt like to want to be recognized. Recognized, not for being "Lord Seventh's son," but for being himself: Boruto Uzumaki.

 _Is this how Dad felt?_

It was twilight when they reached the Hokage Mansion—a towering structure sitting at the foot of Hokage Mountain. The Mansion was where his father spent the majority of his time (though he had gotten better about spending time with his family), and yet Boruto only ever seemed to visit whenever he finished a mission with his team. The whole "my dad is the Hokage" novelty wore off an eternity ago, and though his father had improved over the last year, he still preferred Dad-Naruto to Hokage-Naruto any day.

When they got to the office, Naruto was seated behind an impressive stack of paperwork and was tiredly filling out some of it. Shikamaru, his top advisor, was leaned up against a nearby wall, reviewing some paperwork of his own on a clipboard. The noise of Team Konohamaru's entrance snapped both men out of their work, though neither seemed annoyed by the interruption. Naruto, in fact, looked relieved to have a distraction from his paperwork. And when he saw Boruto's blonde mop bound into the office, a soft, fatherly smile settled on his countenance.

"Sorry to interrupt, Lord Hokage." Konohamaru said. "We've completed our mission."

"How'd it go?" Naruto asked.

"Boring," Boruto immediately replied, folding his arms in mock anger. "What is the point of having zookeepers if the damned panda keeps escaping its pin?!"

"Boruto!" Konohamaru shouted, however, Naruto was quick to wave at him—signaling for him to calm down.

"Perhaps that'll be your next assignment, Boruto." Naruto teased. "Zookeeper."

Boruto stuck out his lower lip and pouted. He knew his father was joking, but the idea still repulsed him. He would never work in a zoo. He'd much rather do D-Rank missions for the rest of his life than tend to smell, unruly animals. Naruto took his silence for victory and grinned triumphantly, which made Boruto turn his head away, pretending to be offended and annoyed.

"Actually," Naruto continued. "I might have just the thing to cheer you up."

The Seventh turned his attention to the piles of paperwork stacked on his desk and began to sort through one of the smaller stacks. After a moment, he found what he was looking for and, when he turned back towards them, he was holding three sheets of paper. Boruto glanced at the paperwork and, though he couldn't see everything on it, he could already tell what it was. He had seen them before. His face brightened.

"Last year, the Chūnin Exams got, err... interrupted," Naruto said. "This year, though, we're taking special precautions. So, what do you say? Give it another shot?"

Boruto's smile turned into a toothful grin and before long he was bursting with excitement.

"At _last_!" he shrieked, jumping up and down. "Another chance to ditch this boring genin rank!"

"Right, just remember—"

"I _know_ ," Boruto groaned. "No Scientific Ninja Tools. I got it. This time, I promise."

Sarada couldn't help but giggle at that one, which earned her an elbow to the rib from Boruto.

"The Exams begin in one month," Naruto explained. "Our facilities aren't fully repaired from the incident last year; not to mention, _we_ hosted them last year. So, this time, the Exams are going to be held in Kirigakure."

 _That_ got Boruto really excited. He had never gotten to visit another hidden village before! He'd heard all the stories, sure, but he'd never actually _seen_ one. Finally, he was getting his wish: to get outside the walls of Konohagakure and see the world a little bit. Then another thought hit him:

"If we're going to have the Chūnin Exams again, then that means I need to find Uncle Sasuke!"

"He's on a mission, dummy." Sarada growled. "He can't just take time off to train you whenever you want, you know!"

Thus began another one of Boruto and Sarada's famous arguments. But one face in the room didn't seem to be enjoying the spectacle. At the mention of his rival's name, Naruto clammed up. He almost appeared... _remorseful_. Had the two genin not been squabbling, they would have certainly noticed. Even the other two jōnin seemed to be too wrapped up in the fit to have noticed.

"Alright, you two." Konohamaru said. "That's enough. I suppose we'll be on our way, Lord Hokage."

Naruto snapped out of his daze. "Oh, right."

He pushed back his chair, circled the desk, and, when in front of them, handed Boruto, Sarada, and Mitsuki each an entrance form for the Exams.

"Remember," Naruto said. "Fill out those forms and start your preparations. In one month's time, you set out for the Hidden Mist."

With that, the meeting concluded, and Naruto's office emptied.

By then, the sun had set and the moon had risen to its full height in the sky. Shikamaru grunted something behind him as he continued to sift through paperwork, but Naruto paid him no mind. His gaze was fixated out the window, beyond the Hokage Mountain, on the heavenly globe that had once been the prison of Kaguya Ōtsutsuki.

The moon was red.

* * *

"Naruto," Shikamaru said around a quarter after ten. "That's all we can do for today. We should both get some rest. We need to begin preparing the village for you to travel in one month's time; that means the next few mornings will be early ones."

"When are they ever not?" Naruto replied, yawning.

Shikamaru didn't respond at once. Instead, he let silence fall between them for a moment; then he spoke his mind.

"You want to tell me what's bothering you?" he asked.

Naruto couldn't resist chuckling. No matter how focused on Sarada and Boruto's argument he had seemed, Naruto should have known Shikamaru would be aware of everything else going on in the room too. The man was a genius. A lazy genius, but a genius nonetheless. Nothing got by him, and Naruto knew there was no point in lying, so he simply spilled his guts:

"Its Sasuke," he said.

Shikamaru raised an eyebrow. "Have you heard from him?"

Naruto shook his head. "No, and I'm afraid its worse. He's been getting these... weird stirrings lately. The same kind he got before Momoshiki and Kinshiki showed up. He thinks its tied to Kaguya, so, naturally, he went to investigate." His eyes narrowed and he reached into the top drawer of his desk, retrieving a scroll which he unrolled atop his paperwork. The scroll was blank. "We devised a system. This scroll contained a sealing formula. If something were to happen to Sasuke while he was in the other dimension, the formula would vanish."

Shikamaru's eyes widened. "Does that mean...—?!"

Naruto's eyes narrowed further. "I don't know..."

The two men returned to silence for a moment, then Shikamaru huffed and leaned back against the wall once more.

"You already know what I'm going to say, don't you?"

Naruto said nothing.

"You can't go after Sasuke," Shikamaru said anyways. "For one, you don't have anyway of getting to Kaguya's dimension. Two, you have responsibilities. The Chūnin Exams are just a month away; we need you! Sasuke is a Leaf Shinobi. He can take care of himself. You have a job to do here."

Again, Naruto said nothing. He simply hung his head in defeat. Shikamaru knew that look. It vaguely reminded him of a depressed Naruto who had just learned that Sasuke had attacked the Five Kage Summit in the Land of Iron. A look of agony—of wanting to help his friends, and damn the expectations! But that was then and this is now. Naruto wasn't just some lowly genin now; he was the Seventh Hokage, charged with the protection and the daily operations of the village. He couldn't just run off on a rescue mission whenever he wanted—not unless it impacted village security.

Without warning, Naruto stood and began to walk away from his desk.

"I'm going home, Shikamaru." he said. "I'll see you in the morning."

Shikamaru hesitated. "Naruto—"

"I know. I know my duty."

And with that, he was gone.

* * *

"When do you think your dad will be home from his mission?"

Boruto was stretched out on his bed, the receiver of his phone (a late birthday present from his father) lazily propped up next to his ear. He and Sarada had been babbling about the upcoming Chūnin Exams for the last half-hour. Of course, occasional bouts of bickering ensued, but it was clear to Boruto that Sarada was just as excited about the new Exams as he was.

"Dunno," she replied. "He never tells us."

Boruto grunted. "Great... He's supposed to be my mentor."

"I'm sure he'll turn up. Besides, why aren't you asking _your_ dad?"

"Tch. That jerk is always working. Besides, your dad is cooler."

"Can't argue with that," she said, and though he couldn't see her, Boruto knew she was grinning. "Mom said that Dad trained under Lord Sixth during his Chūnin Exams. Why don't you ask him?"

Boruto brightened up at this. Why hadn't _he_ thought of that?! Lord Sixth, Kakashi Hatake, formerly known as "Kakashi of the Sharingan," was _perfect_ to train him for the Chūnin Exams—well, other than Sasuke himself, of course.

"Of course, Lord Sixth _is_ rather hard to get ahold of..." Sarada said.

"I'll do it," Boruto insisted, suddenly reenergized. "I got your dad to train me. Getting Lord Sixth to do the same will be a piece of cake!"

"If you say so..."

Just then, the door to Boruto's room opened and his mother stepped in. Hinata Uzumaki was dressed in a light violet nightgown, her hair was down, and Boruto could tell that she was definitely ready to turn in for the evening.

"Boruto," she said softly. "Your father is home. Come say goodnight."

He nodded. Naruto was home earlier than usual, which pleased him. He quickly told Sarada that he had to go, hung up, bounced out of bed and trotted down the hall towards their living room. He found Naruto seated at the dining room table looking more exhausted than he had when Boruto had seen him earlier in the day. Sometimes he too easily forgot how arduous his father's position in the village was.

"Dad?" Boruto said as he approached. "I came to say goodnight."

Naruto didn't lift his head. His eyes were glazed over, as if his thoughts were elsewhere, yet he responded: "Oh, goodnight, Boruto."

"Naruto-kun?" Hinata's voice seemed softer, coming from behind Boruto. When he turned around, he could see the concern etched onto her countenance. Apparently, she could also detect the change in Naruto's demeanor. "Naruto-kun, what is it?"

At first, Naruto didn't answer. He kept his silence, kept his head down, and seemed to think _hard_ about what to say to his family. Then, after several moments of stale silence, he turned and looked first at his son, then his wife. For a split instant, Boruto saw his father's age truly shine through. The man who was the Seventh Hokage was revered for his spastic personality and energetic disposition, but in that moment, at his dining room table, Naruto looked aged and weary.

"It's Sasuke," he said gravely, and Boruto felt a lump develop in his throat. "He's missing."

* * *

 **A/N:** Here it is! The first chapter of the _Boruto Gaiden_ series. I do hope the first chapter, combined with the prologue, were enough to garner your intrigue. The Chūnin Exams begin again and the mystery deepens surrounding Sasuke's disappearance. Thus begins what I shall call the Introduction—Land of Dreams Arc: the first of several story arcs, which I will indicate the beginning and end of in this section as they come and go. Another note I'd like to make here is about the frequency of updating: For the first several chapters, due to my freedom from work and school at the moment, will come rather rapidly over the course of the next week. This will **not** be the pace for the entire series, mind you, though I do plan to update at least once or twice a month—maybe more if I have the time. But at least for the next few chapters, I will be updating seemingly very rapidly.

Please do leave your comments, follow, and favorite!

Until next time.

Later.


	3. Himawari!

_It's Sasuke. He's missing._

Boruto couldn't get his father's words out of his head and the more he tried to sleep, the louder they became. Sasuke. The legendary shinobi who helped his father end the war... Missing? That just didn't seem possible. What could have happened? According to Old Man Shikamaru, Sasuke was the only shinobi who stood a chance against Naruto. What could possibly have been strong enough to make Sasuke vanish?

 _You can't tell Sarada, Boruto. Not yet. Promise me?_

But...

 _No buts. I'll talk to Sakura in the morning, but, until then, this stays here with us. Understand?_

Boruto sighed. He had other questions. If Sasuke was missing, who was going to search for him? Why wasn't his father already out there looking for him? Weren't they supposed to be best friends? But Boruto already knew the answer to two of those questions: his father was Hokage and the Hokage's first priority was the village. A year ago, that thought might have made Boruto's blood boil with rage, but not this time. He had seen his father's face. Naruto looked devastated. He was probably wishing he could be looking for Sasuke rather than filling out paperwork. No, for once, Boruto understood where his father was coming from.

He rolled over in bed: _If Dad can't go after him... Perhaps..._

No.

Unfortunately, he already knew the answer to _that_ question too. His father would never approve of _him_ going after Sasuke. He was just a genin. Even if he were a chūnin, Naruto still wouldn't let him go. The missions Sasuke took on were of a variety that even typical jōnin couldn't preform. They were much too dangerous. If _jōnin_ couldn't do them, then Boruto certainly wouldn't be allowed to—elite genin or not.

Helplessness was not a feeling Boruto enjoyed, though he imagined that was a sentiment shared by many—certainly his father. He had an answer for it, sure. He had an answer for a lot of things, but this one was more common sense. Power. He needed it. Power could erase his failure during the last Chūnin Exam and make the village acknowledge him as a true shinobi. Power, enough of it, could save Sasuke...

 _If he's still alive_ , the voice of pessimism said in his mind.

He tried to ignore it.

Sasuke had to be alive. _Nothing_ could kill him. Boruto had seen him fight against Momoshiki and Kinshiki. He had seen him fight alongside Naruto in that arena _and_ in the other dimension. There wasn't anything alive that could beat Sasuke! He was sure of it! But... Then, this feeling wouldn't go away. The nagging suspicion that perhaps there _was_ something out there that could do Sasuke in.

And if that "something" existed? Well, he hoped it stayed in whatever dimension Sasuke found it in.

Still, if he could get the power to save Sasuke, then perhaps it would also be enough to _beat_ whatever took Sasuke, right? His thoughts then shifted elsewhere, to the Sixth Hokage. To Kakashi.

 _If I can get him to train me..._

Boruto tightened his hand into a fist.

 _I_ will _get him to train me!_

* * *

"Big brother? You're entering the Chūnin Exams again?" Himawari asked innocently from her chair at the dining room table the following morning.

Boruto's mind was still on Sasuke. He had barely touched his breakfast, something his mother had pointed out no less than three times in the past half-hour; but he couldn't eat—he simply didn't have an appetite. His kid sister's question, however, snapped him temporarily from his daze and he glanced in her direction. Himawari could be scary when she was angry, but she was otherwise a happy, bubbly child who could make Boruto smile no matter what his mood was.

"Yeah," he said and did just that. "I start training today, actually."

 _As soon as I find Lord Sixth..._

"Can I help?"

Boruto paused. His immediate thought was to refuse. He had his sights set on getting Lord Sixth to take him as a pupil and playing with Himawari would only take away from that. Unfortunately, he made the mistake of looking into his younger sister's bright blue eyes, which were a slightly lighter shade than their father's, and instantly caved. Lord Sixth could wait a couple of hours.

"Sure, Hima."

"Did I hear you two were going to train together?" Hinata asked as she came back into the room.

"Yes, Mama!" Himawari replied.

"Why not?" Boruto chimed in. "Hima always makes for a good sparring partner."

Their mother's smile brightened Boruto's otherwise dismal mood. She always brightened up whenever he and Himawari decided to do something together. Usually, she offered to participate as well, and this time was no different.

"Why don't I come along then?" she offered. "We'll make a family trip of it."

A family trip it was.

The three Uzumaki set out shortly after breakfast and, led by Hinata, ventured outside the gates of the village. Boruto already knew where they were going. Before becoming Hokage, Naruto frequently took him out to the old Third Training Ground to practice for Academy exams. The Third Training Ground was significant to him. It was where his team, Team Kakashi, was formed many long years before.

Appearance-wise, the training field wasn't particularly impressive. It was surrounded on all sides by forests, with a spectacular view of the nearby mountains, and a tributary of the Naka River running down its center. Three wooden posts stuck out of the ground near the bank of the river and the famous memorial stone stood just a few feet away from them. The Uzumaki trio arrived at the perfect time; no other teams were presently using the field for training.

"This should be fine," Boruto said when they finally arrived at the right spot. "You up for some sparring, Hima?"

"Right," Himawari replied gleefully.

"Not so fast, you two." Hinata interrupted. "You know the procedure."

Both children groaned, then reluctantly took up positions across from each other. Each made a half-Ram hand seal: the Seal of Confrontation. Boruto knew the practice well. His mother had been the one to teach both he and Himawari the old tradition when they were still very young. It had become a habit, albeit an annoying one, during Academy practice sessions in the years following. As they preformed the age-old-ritual, Boruto noticed the veins around Himawari's eyes begin to bulge. Her blue eyes turned a pale white, with the faintest hint of pupils at their center.

 _The Byakugan...!_

He remembered the unfortunate series of events that had led to Himawari awakening her Byakugan. The memory caused him to shiver slightly. His kid sister's rage was a scary thing to behold. Afterwards, she wasn't immediately able to activate the all-powerful dōjutsu.

 _Seems like she's learned a few new tricks since she's been in the Academy..._

"Ready, big brother?" Himawari asked.

"Yeah," Boruto said.

Boruto watched carefully as Himawari took her stance. He wasn't surprised by what he saw in the least. His kid sister had crouched down, spread her legs, pulled her left hand back, pushed her right hand forward, and opened her palms so that they were flat. Boruto had seen the stance a few times before from their mother, so he knew what he was seeing was Gentle Fist. He resisted the urge to gulp; his father had once told him how dangerous the Gentle Fist style was—now he would see it with his own two eyes. Suddenly, he wished that he _too_ had the Byakugan.

Without warning, Himawari launched herself forward and Boruto immediately shifted into a defensive posture. Despite being rusty on the technique itself, Boruto also knew some Gentle Fist taijutsu. His mother had mostly taught him kata that allowed him to defend against other Gentle Fist users, like Himawari, though he had learned to use some maneuvers offensively. Flattening his palms, he waited for Himawari to lunge, then struck for her wrists, knocking away her deadly chakra-laced palms. That was the trick, you see? If Himawari struck him with even one open-palm, his tenketsu would shut down and his ability to use chakra would be hindered. In essence, the battle would be over. However, by striking at her wrists, he could knock her palms away before she struck.

But that was only one way of combating Gentle Fist.

Himawari's footwork was nothing short of fantastic. She pivoted on the ball of her feet, spinning in a perfect circle, which allowed her to round on her brother and continue her offensive. Boruto used the few precious seconds he had to pump chakra into his open palms; then he too lunged. When the two siblings' palms collided, the chakra in their palms canceled the others' out, causing a short burst that pushed them apart.

"Not bad, sis!" Boruto said, and he meant it. Himawari was far from an ordinary Academy Student, that was for sure.

"Watch this!" she declared proudly.

Boruto watched with raised eyebrow as Himawari struck yet another pose: she bent her knees slightly, and then, like before, brought her left hand back and her right hand forward.

"Eight Trigrams..."

Boruto's eyes widened.

"...Thirty-Two Palms!"

 _Shi_ —!

Himawari pounced. Her first maneuver consisted of two back-to-back strikes, which Boruto only barely managed to avoid. Boruto skidded back as she unleashed the second wave, another series of dual strikes. Boruto focused chakra into his feet as he continued his retreat, which allowed him to use the surface of the Naka River as an avenue of escape. Of course, Himawari was hot on his tail. The spinning nature of her taijutsu assault kicked up a spray of water, which flew directly into Boruto's eyes. He didn't have time to dry them. She unloaded four more strikes in her next barrage, and in her fourth, she managed eight. The eighth one caught the side of his arm, and the sudden tingling sensation that erupted there told him that the damage had been done. The fifth wave rounded out the remaining sixteen strikes, most of which struck Boruto dead on. The final strike carried enough chakra to launch him backwards onto the opposing shore. He landed with a loud _THUD_ on his back.

It took Boruto a moment before he could prop himself back up, but he was already feeling the effects of his sister's attack. She had managed to close several of his tenketsu, severely depleting the amount of chakra available to him.

 _Damn,_ he thought. _When did Mom find time to teach her a trick like that?!_

Getting up was harder than he thought it would be. Himawari's technique left his legs and arms shaky, not to mention sore. He could see, though, that it had also taken its toll on her. Himawari was already sweating and and gasping for breath. He assumed that, while powerful, the technique had eaten up a large portion of her still-developing chakra reserves.

"That was pretty, c-cool... Hima." he said weakly. "Now, it's my turn!"

Boruto crossed his fingers and mentally invoked the Shadow Clone Technique. Two bursts of white smoke birthed two identical clones of the young Uzumaki. Boruto uttered somewhat of a chuckle; he could feel his chakra straining under the restricted state of his Chakra Pathway System.

 _Only two, huh? She really did a number on me._

The Boruto trio charged out across the river at Himawari, but the younger girl, tired though she may be, spun and fell right back into Gentle Fist. The real Boruto countered her strikes with several well-placed strikes of his own, but Himawari's maneuvers were too good for the clones. In a matter of seconds after their creation, she had destroyed both of them with very little effort. It was no use. Taijutsu was completely useless against her; she was too good at it, so Boruto changed strategies. Kneading the required chakra strained him even more, but he managed to do it, then formed the dragon, tiger, and hare seals.

"Water Release: Wild Water Wave!"

A powerful jet of water sprayed for Boruto's mouth, striking Himawari square in the chest. The recoil sent her soaring backwards, though not far enough to make it to the shore where their mother was watching them. Instead, she fell just short, and landed in the cold river water, having lost the necessary concentration to remain on the water's surface. Now was his chance! With a weak Lightning Release attack, he could be victorious! However, when he began to knead the chakra, he found himself unable to create enough. The damage from Himawari's earlier attack was finally catching up to him.

 _Damn...!_

Himawari was climbing out of the water now, but already Boruto had noticed a change in her—one that quickly caused him to become cold, despite not being the one who had just taken a dunk in the river. His sister was soaked and apparently not too pleased about it. When she looked up, her eyes were still activated Byakugan, but there was a childish rage to them; it was the same look she'd given him when she awakened her Byakugan.

"Big brother..." she said through clenched teeth. "That was no... _fair!_ "

Boruto attempted to play it off: "Come on now, Hima... Nothing's fair in battle!"

He was right, but Himawari wasn't buying it. The water around her began to ripple, the gurgle, then swirl until Boruto could see a visible chakra aura engulfing his younger sister. He had no time to react to what came next: chains, formed from her chakra, erupted from the aura and veered directly towards him. Boruto backpedaled as fast as he could, and the sharp-tipped chains missed, striking the water in front of him, which resulted in a rather large explosion. The watery shockwave threw him backwards and this time it was _he_ who suddenly found himself under water.

 _What the hell was that?!_

But he had no time to ponder. The chains were coming again and he couldn't mold enough chakra to fend them off. Suddenly, he felt his body being lifted upwards, out of the water and into cool air. It took him a few moments to realize that he was being held underneath his mother's arm. Somewhere in the chaos, Hinata had seen it fit to end the fighting before someone got seriously injured. Her Byakugan was also activated and her free hand was extended in a typical Gentle Fist pose. Clearly, she had somehow destroyed the chakra chains.

"That's enough, you two." she said. "This is getting dangerous."

She dropped Boruto down once they returned to shore. Himawari, her blue eyes having returned, looked soaked and exhausted. Boruto himself was sore all over and he was soaked to the bone. It had been a long time since he had felt _this_ worn out. Perhaps Himawari was a better training partner than he had initially given her credit for.

"Now then," his mother continued. "The Seal of Reconciliation."

Himawari looked as though she would rather eat vegetables for dinner than give Boruto the satisfaction of the Seal of Reconciliation; so, being the older sibling, Boruto got up and limped over to his little sister, offering her his fingers. She attempted to pretend like she didn't see him, but after a moment she reluctantly returned the gesture and the two siblings preformed the seal.

"Good," their mother nodded approvingly.

"What," Boruto said. "What _was_ that?"

Finally, Himawari broke her silence: "Dunno," she confessed. "I just did it."

It was inconceivable to him! Once again, she had used some kind of technique without even known what it was! As a genin, Boruto was known as an "elite." His peers called him a genius, but he had nothing on his kid sister! She was always improving, always becoming stronger. In many ways, she reminded him of their father (though he couldn't, for the life of him, understand where she got her temper).

"You should be more careful next time, Himawari." Hinata warned in her trademark soft tone. "If you use a technique without knowing the risks, you could seriously injure yourself or someone else."

"Yes, Mama..."

"Right, then. Let's get home. I think you've both had your fill of training for one day."

Boruto was stubborn enough to disagree with his mother, but his body was stubborn enough to disagree with _him_. Even with a few hours rest, he knew his body wouldn't be up to anymore training, and he needed to be at his best if he wanted to train under Lord Sixth. Reluctantly, he agreed to return home with his mother and sister.

* * *

The walk home was among the most uncomfortable journeys in Boruto's young life.

His entire body throbbed, his legs ached, and he was finding it increasingly difficult to keep his balance—all side effects of Himawari's Eight Trigrams Thirty-Two Palms. Himawari also seemed labored, though she was not nearly as bad off as Boruto. Their mother was a short distance ahead of them and eventually had to stop in order to allow them to catch up with her.

"Come along," she said softly. "The sooner we get home, the sooner you can both rest."

Boruto began to walk again, but was suddenly distracted when he saw a familiar face out of the corner of his eye. Sarada! In all the excitement of his match with Himawari, Boruto had forgotten all about Sarada and what she must be facing today. All at once, the promise he made to his father came rushing back:

 _You can't tell Sarada yet, Boruto. Not yet. Promise me?_

 _I'll talk to Sakura in the morning._

 _This stays with us, understand?_

Still, he couldn't just ignore her. Gathering up his strength, he managed to wave in her direction.

"Sarada!" he cried.

She seemed to stop for a moment, then shook her head and took off running. Pain of an entirely different kind began to well up in Boruto. He knew what Sarada was feeling; he too had felt it when Naruto was taken away by Momoshiki and Kinshiki. He had the urge to chase after her and say... something... anything, but he neither had the energy nor the words. A soft hand, his mother's, fell on his shoulder and offered a comforting squeeze.

"Don't worry, Boruto." his mother said. "Sasuke-kun is an unbelievably resilient shinobi. He's been through more than you can imagine. He'll get through this too."

Boruto gritted his teeth. A sudden, burning desire to rescue his mentor blocked out the pain and soreness that permeated his body. He looked at his hands, which were still shaking from Himawari's attack, and balled them into fists. Power. He lacked it. He lacked so much of it. His _kid sister_ had more than him; he'd seen it. Well, if Himawari was powerful, he'd just have to get _more_ powerful. Then he could save Sasuke... for Sarada... for his father... for _him_.

* * *

 **A/N:** Boruto's troubles continue with an unexpected twist. It seems that Boruto is not the _only_ genius in the Uzumaki household. Himawari has been doing her homework and, like Karin, has awakened an imperfect version of the Uzumaki clan's **Adamantine Sealing Chains**! Not only that, but she's not too shabby with the Gentle Fist style, eh? With Sasuke still missing, and the Chūnin Exams looming, Boruto seems to be following in his missing mentor's footsteps in his quest for power. Which path will that lead him down? Guess you'll all have to stick around to find out!

This chapter continues my week-long "binge" of releases, after which the series will stabilize into a more steady release schedule. What did you think? Leave your comments in the reviews! And don't forget to follow and favorite!

Until next time.

Later!


	4. The Scarecrow Returns

"Sarada?"

Boruto was standing on the patio of the Uchiha household. It had taken him two whole days to recover from his training exercise with Himawari. He had spent the whole time trying to get ahold of Sarada, but the young Uchiha hadn't answered any of his phone calls; so, when his body _finally_ stopped aching, he personally ventured to the Uchiha's home to ask her mom about her. Sakura Uchiha was a childhood friend and teammate of both his father and his mentor. She was the third member of Team Kakashi, the student of Lord Fifth, and perhaps one of the most famous medical shinobi currently alive. To Boruto, though, she was just "Aunt Sakura," who was even scarier than Himawari when she was angry. Only this time, she looked like she'd been crying... a lot.

"Sorry, Boruto." Sakura said. "Things have been kind of chaotic around here since... well, since we got the news. Sarada's been gong off on her own a lot lately."

Boruto looked down. "Oh..."

"I'll be sure to tell her you were here."

"Yeah," Boruto said solemnly. "Thanks."

Leaving the Uchiha residence, he couldn't help but feel even more defeated. He himself had begun to doubt that Sasuke would ever turn up. It had been four days since his father had pronounced the Uchiha patriarch missing and, as far as he could tell, no one was any closer to figuring out what happened to him. Boruto considered going home and taking another day off, but instead found himself drawn to the small playground where many of the village's children spent their weekends. To his surprise, he was greeted by none other than Mitsuki.

"Hey there, Boruto!" the pale-haired youth called out.

"Hey, Mitsuki." Boruto replied, though his tone lacked any enthusiasm.

Mitsuki immediately noticed his unusual demeanor. "What's with everyone lately? Sarada was acting weird earlier too."

Boruto perked up at this. "You saw Sarada?"

"'Bout an hour ago." Mitsuki said. "I was trying to get a little training in for the Chūnin Exams and she was out by the memorial stone."

"Yeah, her dad is..."

"I heard. That guy has a knack for disappearing, doesn't he?"

Boruto's eye twitched in mild annoyance. "Well _you_ don't seem all that concerned."

"'Course not," Mitsuki replied matter-of-factly. "My parent speaks highly of Sasuke. Rumor goes that he _trained_ Sasuke at one point."

This wasn't news to Boruto. Everyone in the village and then some knew that the members of Team Kakashi each studied under one of the Sannin at one point: Naruto under Jiraiya, Sakura under Tsunade, and Sasuke under Orochimaru. Hell, they were practically the new generation of Sannin at this point. Still, Mitsuki's words did little to relieve the anxiety broiling in the pit of Boruto's stomach. He just couldn't be that optimistic right now, all things considered.

"How's your training going?" Mitsuki continued, seemingly having grown bored of the subject.

Boruto's mind flashed back to two days prior and that made him chuckle a bit. "Not particularly well." he admitted. "I was thinking about getting Lord Sixth to train me a bit."

Mitsuki looked genuinely shocked. "Lord Sixth?"

"Yeah. He trained Sarada and I's parents when they were young. He also trained Uncle Sasuke for his Chūnin Exams; I thought he might do the same for me."

Mitsuki broke out in a grin, then burst into a fit of chuckles.

"What's so funny?!"

"Nothing," the pale-haired boy laughed. "It's just, you and Sarada are _always_ on the same wavelength."

"Sarada?"

"Yeah, she said something similar. About Lord Sixth, I mean. I think she was going to try looking for him a little later. Word on the street is that he visits Old Man Guy at the retirement home every afternoon."

Boruto couldn't believe his ears. Sarada must have thought about Lord Sixth after their conversation on the phone the night Sasuke was declared missing. All of a sudden, he just _knew_ he had to find Sarada. If the two of them trained together, then perhaps... Perhaps they could both achieve the power necessary to save Sasuke. A sudden burst of energy filled his small frame, and, ignoring Mitsuki's shouts, he tore out of the playground towards the Konoha Retirement Home. If Sarada was anywhere in the village, it was going to be there.

* * *

Chōchō Akimichi was anything but amused. When Moegi-sensei mentioned a "change in pace" from their usual slate of missions, she had envisioned an assignment that took them outside the village for once. Instead, Team Moegi got slapped with the most hellish D-rank mission of all: helping out at Konoha Retirement Home. Chōchō's one comfort was that, of all the degrading tasks that could be handed out at a retirement home, she got the one that was least likely to give her a life-long infection: answering the phones. Inojin had been given the task of changing _bed pans_ , and Shikadai was making rounds delivering lunches to the patients. Totally not her thing.

The phone rang, as it so often did, and Chōchō found herself questioning her entire life. She simply could not fathom how shinobi got stuck doing jobs like this one. There were an infinite number of things she'd rather be doing, stuffing her plump face into a large bag of barbecue chips being chief among them. But this was her mission and she had to do her part.

She answered the phone: "Konoha Retirement Home. This is Chōchō Akimichi, how can I direct your call?"

The man on the other end of the line was wheezing a lot. Was he a smoker? She thought he might be. And he talked really nerdy too. With each passing moment, Chōchō's eyes grew narrower and narrower.

"Your mother?" she asked, trying to at least _sound_ interested. "Sure thing, hold on just one moment."

The man was looking for his mother. There was only one of two places she could be.

 _Here comes the fun part_ , she thought.

There were two stacks of folders on the desk in front of her. One stack contained the files of patients who were residents of the retirement home; the other, composed of grey folders, contained the files of all the patients that were deceased. The stacks were disproportionate, something that had initially bothered Chōchō to no end, but the past hour of mind-numbingly boring phone calls had numbed her to the fact that the deceased pile was larger than the living one. Huffing, she started with the living. She thumbed through the thin stack of folders, looking for the name the man had given her.

No luck.

 _Correction: here comes the_ really _fun part_.

She turned her attention to the deceased stack. The file she was looking for was fourth from the top. Great. Once again, Chōchō found herself questioning the meaning of life in the middle of her mission. Her mother and father had _insisted_ that she was made for shinobi work. She hated to inform _them_ , however, that if _this_ is what counted for shinobi work these days, she would rather be broke and homeless.

 _Well, maybe just homeless_

With another sigh, she picked up the phone again and took it off of hold.

"Are you still there?" she asked. Her eyes swept across a sheet that detailed _exactly_ what she was supposed to say when this situation arose, and she was already wincing at where she saw this conversation heading. "We are sorry to inform you that your mother has died." Okay, the paper _technically_ said she was supposed to use the term "deceased," but Chōchō wasn't necessarily concerned with the paper anymore. She just wanted this conversation to be over. "When did she die?"

What kind of question was that anyways? Chōchō glanced back at the deceased woman's file. Her eyes immediately narrowed further.

"Her file says she died two years ago," Chōchō said and she had dropped all pretenses—her annoyance was plain in her tone. "You haven't visited her or called in the past two _years_?"

The man answered and Chōchō was finally, officially, **done**.

"Please hold while I transfer you to Hell."

She hung up and that was that. The nerve of some people. What kind of person locks their mother up in a place like this and then doesn't check on her for two years? For a brief instant, she remembered going with Sarada to find her "true parents" when Sarada was off looking for her own father. That answered her question:

 _Oh yeah,_ she thought with an amused grimace. My _kind of people._

And, speak of the Devil himself, Sarada came walking in through the front doors at precisely that moment.

"Sarada!" she shouted, then waved.

"Chōchō?" the stern look on Sarada's face melted into one of pure confusion. "What are you doing here?"

"I've been asking myself that same question all day," Chōchō admitted. "The real question is what _you_ are doing here."

Sarada's face tightened up into somewhat of a scowl, then relaxed as though she had considered saying something blunt and stopped herself. The young Uchiha sighed, pushed her glasses further up the bridge of her nose, folded her arms and looked Chōchō square in the eyes.

"Is Lord Sixth here?"

"The Sixth?" Chōchō asked, her face scrunching up with confusion. "Sure, I think so. He's visiting Guy-sensei."

"What room?"

Chōchō was even more confused at this point, but turned to look through her pile of living patients' folders. Guy's file was third from the bottom. The room number was printed in big, bold, red characters. She could hardly miss it.

"Room 207," she replied.

"Great. Thanks, Chōchō." Sarada began to march off in the direction of the stairwell, and Chōchō opened her mouth to say something; but the voice that came out was not her own.

"Sarada!"

No, that voice wasn't her's, but it _did_ sound like—

"Boruto?" Sarada had turned around by now; clearly she hadn't been expecting company.

But there he was, looking like he'd just raced Rock Lee himself twelve times around the village. His blond, leaf-shaped mop of hair was flying in every which direction; sweat was pouring off of him like a waterfall—he looked absolutely wrecked.

"Geez, Boruto." Chōchō said dramatically. "You can't come after a girl looking like _that_."

Boruto ignored her comment completely and walked further into the reception area, which made Sarada herself take few steps back towards them.

"Boruto, what are you doing here?"

"Mitsuki told me you came here to see Lord Sixth," Boruto panted. "I'm coming with you."

Stern Sarada seemed show up almost as if by cue. The young Uchiha may have initially been somewhat pleased with seeing her friend and fellow teammate, but she did _not_ want him interfering in whatever she was planning. That much, to Chōchō, was clear. Sarada wasted no time voicing her opinion either.

"Go home, Boruto." she barked. "This doesn't concern you."

 _She should know better than to try that on Boruto_ , thought Chōchō, who was now watching the event unfolding before as if it were some sort of mid-afternoon sitcom. She had her hand over her mouth to prevent them both from seeing the grin on her face. _Boruto is just as stubborn as she is._

"Doesn't concern me?!" Boruto predictably shouted back. "What's that supposed to mean?!"

"Just _go_ , Boruto."

 _Ahhhh... a fight between best friends! How tragic,_ Chōchō thought. _And I have no potato chips to calm them! This whole situation blows.._

"No, way." Boruto growled defiantly. "I'm here to see the Sixth!"

"This isn't about the Chūnin Exams! You can bug Lord Sixth about that anytime. This is about—"

"—your dad?"

Sarada froze and her angry expression melted into one of remorse and even... sadness.

 _The plot thickens,_ thought Chōchō with an overdramatic gasp.

"I'm coming with you," Boruto repeated. "That's all there is to it."

Sarada turned back towards the stairwell and adjusted her glasses once again. After a moment of silence, she took a few steps forward and then:

"Fine. Just don't get in my way, dummy."

Chōchō sighed, again in an overdramatic fashion: _Crisis adverted._

The two friends from Team Konohamaru followed each other through the lobby and up into the stairwell. That's when another thought hit Chōchō and she practically broke the wooden chair she was seated in when she rocketed up to get their attention.

"Wait! Can one of you go to the vending machine and get me some chips?! Sarada? Boruto?!"

But they were gone.

* * *

The Konoha Retirement Home was set up like this:

The reception area, lobby, and offices, dubbed the 100 Rooms, were set up on the bottom floor. There was also a cafeteria for residents, relatives, and friends alike, though they weren't exactly known for producing the best cuisine. A stairwell led up to the second floor, the 200 Rooms, where otherwise healthy residents were kept. These residents could come and go as they pleased and frequently had visitors. The third floor was restricted to guests but by appointment only. Dubbed the 300 Rooms, it was more officially known as the Sick Ward—where all terminally ill residents were quarantined from the general population. The fourth floor was simply known as "Hospice": a place for residents to live in comfort during their final days. A similar floor was set up at the Konohagakure Hospital.

Boruto and Sarada found themselves at the nurse's station on the second floor. Neither had spoken much since their argument downstairs; instead, the both signed in quietly and made the short trip to Room 207 at the far end of the hall. The door to Might Guy's room was slightly cracked, so Boruto took the lead and pushed it the rest of the way open. Guy's room was a small, rectangular chamber with two large windows that overlooked the village. At the center of the room was a tiny wooden table and Guy's bed wasn't too far from it in the corner of the room. At first the room appeared to be empty, but upon closer inspection, the two genin noticed a masked man with tall white hair standing outside one of the windows on a terrace.

"Is that—?"

"Yeah," Boruto said. "It's been awhile since I've seen him, but there's a few pictures of him at my house and he looks just like the face carved into the mountain. That's definitely Lord Sixth."

Alerted to voices behind him, Kakashi Hatake turned around and blinked in surprise. It wasn't Guy returning to his room, but rather two children—two familiar children. He pushed back the sliding glass window and stepped inside the cramped living quarters.

"Sarada? Boruto?" Kakashi said. "Is that you?"

Sarada perked up, apparently having noticed that something was off. "Where's Guy-sensei?"

"Exercising, most likely." Kakashi replied. "Even at his age, with his injuries, he just can't seem to slow down. I was just waiting for him to get back. Anyways, what brings the two of you here?"

Boruto was first to step forward. Training under the Sixth Hokage _had_ been his idea. He had had more time to think over what he was going to say too. Sarada, on the other hand, looked confused and uncertain. It would be better for the both of them, Boruto decided, if he was the one to talk to the legendary Copy Ninja. Noticing both children's expressions, however, Kakashi beat him to the punch:

"Is this about Sasuke?" he asked gravely.

Sarada had to put her hand on her other arm to keep her small frame from trembling. Her behavior distracted Boruto for a moment; he had never seen her like this. He refocused on Kakashi and nodded.

"We need your help," Boruto said bluntly.

"You don't beat around the bush, do you?" Kakashi replied. "Unfortunately, I can't do anything to help. As much as it pains me to say this... Sasuke's on his own."

Tears were now collecting in Sarada's eyes. Obviously, that was not what she had hoped to hear from a man who was once called Hokage. It wasn't the answer _either_ of them wanted to hear.

"But..." Sarada's voice came weakly and shakily, but it came nevertheless, drawing both Boruto and Kakashi's attentions. "But... You're a Hokage... How can you not... do anything?!"

When Sarada looked up, her expression was a mixture of pain and rage; tears streaked down her cheek and fell freely onto the carpet below. Her eyes, though... Boruto had seen them before in both Sarada and Sasuke. The Sharingan. Only, the last time he saw Sarada's Sharingan, it had just one tomoe circling the pupil. Now, though, there were two in each eye.

"Sarada..." Boruto's voice was a whisper. "Your eyes...!"

Kakashi, on the other hand, looked unfazed. "If I'm honest with you, Naruto and Sasuke are in a completely different league than me. Comparing me to them is like comparing the distance from the earth to the moon. Furthermore, when he disappeared, Sasuke was investigating another space-time using an ability completely unique to him. The simple fact is that I cannot get to him. Neither can Naruto."

Reality splashed over Boruto like a bucket of ice water. He had been too idealistic. As they were—as they _all_ were—no one could reach Sasuke. Boruto balled his hands into fists. Once again, he felt completely and totally helpless. Hearing Sarada's quiet sobs was making the ache in his chest worse. If only... If only he was stronger... There had to be a way to rescue Sasuke. There just _had_ to be.

"Listen," Kakashi said. "Both of you, go home. Next to Naruto, Sasuke is one of the toughest people to kill. He'll turn up... eventually."

"So that means... So that... means..." Sarada was gritting her teeth to hold back her own sobs. "...You're just going to give up?"

Kakashi's gaze softened. For a moment, he was transported back many years, to the day Sasuke left the village with Orochimaru. In that moment, Sarada was no longer a raven-haired girl with Sharingan to match her father's; she was a pink-haired young lady with bright green eyes and a red dress soaked from crying. His gaze shifted towards the little blonde boy, who was no longer the cheater from the last Chūnin Exams, who now looked heavily burdened by his friend's distress, but an unruly brat, dressed in orange who vowed never go back on his word.

 _In the ninja world, those who break the rules are trash, that's true, but those who abandon their comrades are worse than trash._

Underneath his mask, Kakashi couldn't suppress his smile: _Obito, your ideals, which I passed on to my students, lives on even now... in their children._

"Well, I'm not giving up." Though Boruto had spoken the words, Kakashi heard a twelve-year-old Naruto's voice instead. By this point, he was firmly rooted in the memories of the past.

The young Uzumaki had stepped forward, his eyes seemed to be ablaze with turquoise flames. In that moment, Boruto had never looked nor sounded like his father more than he did right then. Underneath his mask, Kakashi's smile widened.

"Old Man Sixth," Boruto declared. "Please take me as your pupil."

* * *

 **A/N:** Boruto and Sarada have finally located the legendary Sixth Hokage and have made their requests to him. What will the final result be...? Things are not all as they seem, that's for sure!

Chōchō's introduction into this series is probably my favorite moment so far. That scene was adapted and based upon a scene from one of my favorite plays and I thought it would be the perfect way to introduce her character! I hope you all enjoyed.

As always, review, follow, and favorite: Let me know what y'all think! It gives me fuel to go on!

Until next time!

Later!


	5. The Things They Left Behind

"No?! What do you mean _no_?!"

"I meant just that," Kakashi said. The former Sixth Hokage didn't budge an inch. "I'm retired, after all; I'm too old to take on new students."

"That's your excuse?!" Boruto was visibly furious. Even Sarada seemed appalled by Kakashi's refusal. "If not for Uncle Sasuke, then for—"

"—the Chūnin Exams? Sorry, that won't change my answer." Kakashi saw the fury building behind Boruto's big, blue eyes. The visage of Naruto that he had resembled just moments ago was gone; the one that replaced it was also familiar, but not at all in a good way. "Boruto, listen to me. The pursuit of power won't get you any closer to your goals."

"But I can get _stronger!"_ Boruto argued. "Then... Then—"

"Forget about power," Kakashi said more forcefully, snapping Boruto from his tirade.

He could see it plainly now. Boruto had certainly inherited traits from both Naruto and Hinata. He was bold and unwavering, like Naruto, yet gentle around those he cared about, like Hinata. Yet, there was another aspect to him that surprised the former Hokage. It was etched into his eyes, written all over his stance, and radiated out through his voice. The boy was obsessed with power. He craved it—saw it as the solution to every wall currently in his path.

 _He's just like Sasuke was back_ then, Kakashi thought.

"Boruto, the world isn't as simple as achieving power to get what you want." he said. "No matter how strong you get, you will always face adversity. Once you get beyond one wall, you'll find another twice as tall on the other side. Power is just a shortcut. If you really want to scale those walls, reason, wit, and faith in your comrades are just as important." He briefly thought back to his days traveling with Naruto, recalling each and every wall the young shinobi overcame despite impossible odds. He also thought about what a power-hungry Sasuke had looked like. If there was one thing he _didn't_ want to see, it was Naruto's kid turn out like that. "Sasuke can take care of himself. If you want to honor him, focus on your preparations for the Chūnin Exams."

Boruto's head jerked up, but Kakashi had already anticipated his argument and was prepared with a counter.

" _Without_ me. Trust me, if Sasuke were here, he would say the same thing."

Boruto's head drooped and shoulders sagged. He was beaten, outmatched, and he knew it. Even Sarada looked as though she had been admonished. Underneath his mask, though, Kakashi was still smiling.

 _Even after all these years,_ he mused. Images of a younger Naruto and Sakura flashed behind his eyes. _Sasuke... You always have people rushing after you when you're in trouble. Even when you'd rather be alone, they just won't let you._

Just then, the door to Guy's room swung open again, only this time, it was the main resident himself wheeling into the room in his wheelchair. The crippled jōnin was clearly not expecting so much company, if the look on his face was any indicator.

"Oh, Kakashi!" Guy exclaimed. "And Boruto... Sarada!"

"I brought you some houseguests," Kakashi said. "I figured the 'flames of their youth' might cheer you up."

"Oh?! Is that it?" Guy replied excitedly. "But... I'm afraid I finished my training for today."

Kakashi resisted the urge to facepalm. Guy had never been particularly aware when Kakashi was being facetious. It was simple enough to make subtle fun of him, but it was always more humorous when he clearly didn't get the joke.

"Ah, I see." Kakashi replied, an attempt to be a good sport. "Well, they were about to be on their way anyways."

"That reminds me," Guy said. "I saw Konohamaru in the lobby. Seems Naruto is calling some sort of meeting of the village's jōnin. It's..." He glanced sideways at Sarada before apparently deciding he could divulge the information. It wasn't like she wouldn't find out anyways. "...It's about Sasuke."

"I'm retired."

"Konohamaru specifically told me to pass on the message to you, should I see you."

Kakashi was silent for a moment. It wasn't unusual for Naruto to consult him about Hokage business; what _was_ unusual was calling for him to attend a meeting of the village's jōnin. In fact, Naruto had never done that in the his entire tenure as Hokage. But if it concerned Sasuke... The former Hokage spared a glance at the children of his students. Both Boruto and Sarada had perked up at the mention of Sasuke's name. Guy shouldn't have said that in front of them, but that could no longer be helped.

"You two go home," he said at once. "Leave this situation to the higher-ups and focus on the Chūnin Exams. That's where your focus needs to be."

He walked passed them towards the door to Guy's room, which he opened to let them out. Boruto and Sarada were quiet on the way out and Kakashi knew what that meant. They _thought_ they were pulling the wool over his eyes, but he was far too old and much too experienced for their childish tricks. He would catch up to them later. When they were gone, he began to make preparations to leave himself.

"You're going?" Guy asked.

Kakashi paused momentarily, as if pondering it one last time, then: "Yeah."

###

Once outside, Boruto pulled Sarada behind the shrubs in the front lawn of the retirement home. When she made to protest, he put a finger over his mouth, signaling her to be quiet. A few moments later, Kakashi walked out of the building and began to walk down the street, just as Boruto had intended. When the coast was clear, Boruto finally took his finger off of his mouth and regarded a frustrated Sarada.

"Hey, what's the big idea, Boruto?" the Uchiha girl snarled angrily.

"You heard what Guy-sensei said, right?" Boruto asked. "My dad is holding a meeting about your dad. We've gotta get into that meeting!"

Sarada sighed. "And how do you propose we do that? The meeting is for jōnin only and Lord Sixth told us to go home."

"Now who's giving up?" Boruto folded his arms and gave Sarada a stern look. He wasn't about to let her off the hook _that_ easily. "Don't you want to know what happened to your dad?"

"Of course! But—"

"Good, then here's what we'll do. The Transformation Technique is too risky. My mom will probably be there and, if anything suspicious happens, her Byakugan will rat us out right away. But I was thinking—"

"Boruto..."

"—can crawl up through the ventilation system. As long as we don't make any noise, we should be able to—"

"Boruto!"

"Of course, my mom's Byakugan is still a problem... ugh... why does she have to have such troublesome eyes? But—"

" _ **BORUTO!**_ "

" _What?!_ "

Sarada's face scrunched up and, for a moment, Boruto thought she might cry again. Instead, she dusted herself off and stood up—adjusting her glasses as she did. Boruto's expression similarly hardened.

"So, that's your choice, huh?" he snarled.

At first she didn't answer, opting to step out from behind the bushes before pausing to consider her response. Boruto felt himself growing more furious with each passing moment. Balling his fists, he too stood up and shrugged his way through the bushes. How could she just give up on her own father like that? The thought crossed his mind before he had the chance to realize that he would have done the same thing not even a year ago. The realization humbled him, but did little to quiet the rage pooling in his stomach. He had changed since then. He _had_. And he wasn't about to allow Sarada to make the same mistakes that he once had. Yet, before he could open his mouth to admonish her, she said:

"It's pointless, Boruto. You heard what Lord Sixth said... We can't get to him... Not even your dad, because of mine's special technique."

Boruto gritted his teeth.

He knew the technique they had spoken about. It was undoubtably the same technique that Sasuke had used to bring the two of them and the other Kage to Momoshiki's dimension when they went to rescue his father. Sasuke had been able to do so thanks to his Rinnegan eye, an eye that no one else had. But that wasn't enough to make Boruto give up completely, a fact that he made known rather loudly.

"So what?! So we don't have the Rinnegan. Fine. We'll just find another way!" he shouted, then his voice lowered considerably. "But we'll never know if we just give up without trying."

Initially, Sarada's eyes widened, as though she was surprised at Boruto's resolve. She shouldn't have been. He was always like this—bold and determined. Sure, it usually got him into trouble (actually, it _always_ got him into trouble), but this time it didn't matter. It just didn't. The Sixth Hokage had been right: Sasuke was on his own. Unless Boruto had suddenly learned how to tear open dimensions, she knew his talk would just be that—talk.

"Sorry, Boruto." she said at last, turning around—showing him her back. "Thank you."

Before he could protest, Sarada leaped up and disappeared. Boruto remained in the same spot for a long while afterwards, considering his options. In the end, the choice was plain to him. Maybe he couldn't help Sasuke; perhaps it was just as the Sixth and Sarada had said: he was on his own in another dimension where nobody could get to him. Maybe. Then again, perhaps there _was_ a way; and if that way existed, his dad would be the one to find it.

It was mid-afternoon, and Boruto started running.

* * *

Naruto Uzumaki had never dreamed that being Hokage might be more challenging than fighting in the Fourth Shinobi World War. The pressure was beyond belief. Even with Shikamaru and Shizune's assistance, his work had more than doubled since the Shinobi Union had announced the Chūnin Exams would be taking place. Coupled with Sasuke's disappearance, he doubted even a thousand shadow clones could preform all of the tasks that were being asked of him. But, despite the pressure, Naruto remained stone-faced; he couldn't risk appearing exhausted or emotionally drained; the entire village was counting on him to remain strong—and strong was what he'd be.

He rarely called jōnin assemblies. He knew the shinobi of his village worked tirelessly and he also knew what overburdening them would accomplish: a steaming pile of nothing. Regardless, solving the "Sasuke matter" on his own, as he had originally intended, didn't turn out as planned. He had first ordered that the scroll Sasuke found in Kaguya's dimension over a year ago be reexamined. The thought was that maybe they had missed something—something that might help him learn the fate of his best friend. When the report came back, there was no question in his mind: the village's upper brass needed to be notified. To that end, every jōnin not on assignment had been summoned, along with the heads of all of the village's most important clans.

His expectations were met.

Sitting with him was the Konoha Council, his most trusted advisors: Shikamaru (who also led the Nara Clan), Sakura, and Sai. Despite only being a chūnin, Hinata was also present, seated at his side; under the desk, she held his hand tight—if there was anyone who understood the stress he was under, it was his wife, and he was grateful for her support. The rest of the village's elite were seated in rows before him. Even Temari, Shikamaru's wife and the official representative to Konoha from the Shinobi Union, was present. Despite everything, he was forced to smile when Kakashi arrive—late as usual. When Naruto was promoted to Hokage, he had extended Kakashi an offer to be one of his advisors. Kakashi had simply said that he "was terrible at that kind of thing" and declined, but Naruto knew he could always count on his old teacher to be there when he needed him.

"Naruto," Shikamaru murmured from his left. "I think that's everyone."

"Right," Naruto sighed. He took off the hat, the symbolic crown that adorned the heads of all Hokage, and sat it on the table before him, signifying that the meeting had officially begun. "Sorry to call you all together like this. I know everyone's been busy lately, and I'm grateful for all of your hard work, but it is necessary to make you all aware of a situation that is developing as we speak."

The room was hush. The jōnin watched their leader and listened to his words dutifully. In the back of his mind, Naruto was once again amazed at the events unfolding in his life. In his younger years, he would never have thought he would command the respect and attention of the village's strongest shinobi; yet, here they were—it was definitely happening.

"A few days ago," he continued. "Sasuke Uchiha vanished while carrying out a top secret mission on behalf of the village and the Shinobi Union. He was investigating a disturbance believed to be linked to Kaguya Ōtsutsuki." The sound of her name made the whole room fill with tension; he watched the other shinobi visibly tense up. They had still not forgotten the horror of Madara Uchiha, nor the stories they had heard of the ancient being that was influencing him. "Since then, I have been doing what I could to discover what happened to him. Without the right space-time technique, however, all my inquiries led to dead ends; so, I enlisted the assistance of the Intelligence Division to take a second look at a scroll Sasuke brought back with him a year ago." He paused and glanced in the direction of a young woman sitting near the corner. "Hanako, take it from here?"

"Sure," she replied.

Like Hinata, Hanako wasn't a jōnin—not fully, at least. She was a tokubetsu jōnin and she was damn good at what she did—translating ancient texts. When the fledgling Shinobi Union had first decided that Sasuke would be the one to handle Kaguya's sloppy leftovers, Naruto had realized the value in hiring someone who could decipher and report on ancient texts. Hanako had been a valuable addition to the village's intelligence unit ever since. She was a short woman, slightly shorter than even Hinata, with long, dark hair swept back into a ponytail and fierce amber-colored eyes. Even with her stature, she commanded the attention of the other shinobi with her serious attitude alone.

"Per Lord Hokage's request, I took a look at the scroll Sasuke brought back the previous year. The previous translation, warning of the two invaders Momoshiki and Kinshiki, were correct, however, due to the rushed nature of the translation, it was only _partial_." She huffed; her eyes swept the room as she gathered her thoughts. Then: "The scroll is a historical text, certainly written by Kaguya, concerning the history of her clan... and its enemies."

The was a murmur of concern that rippled over the assembled shinobi. She continued:

"The full text goes something like this—and, to save time, I'll paraphrase the best I can: The beings known as Momoshiki and Kinshiki were vagrants, exiles; apparently, this is a tradition in the Ōtsutsuki clan. Their criminals and the unwanted elements of their society were sent away to other realms. According to the scroll, such a punishment brought about immense shame. Next to execution, it was considered the worse punishment given to members of the clan. This was even more true for members of royalty, which leads me to my first discovery: both Momoshiki and Kinshiki were royalty and, if Kaguya is to believed, they were vexed—their prestige was tarnished, so they sought revenge on their people.

"This is where things begin to get strange. See, the Ōtsutsuki clan, much like humanity, had superstitions that they both feared and respected. I couldn't quite make out this part, but Kaguya seems to reference monsters of some kind—ancient beings that her ancestors fought and locked away many eons ago. If I may make an assumption here: the way she describes them sounds an awful lot like the Ten-Tails. Either way, she writes that, in order to seek vengeance on the people who exiled them, Momoshiki and Kinshiki sought a way to release these monsters. However, the seal that the ancient Ōtsutsuki put on them was much too powerful, so they began to seek out a way to gain enough power to break the seal."

Behind her, a look of horrific realization dawned on Naruto's face. He knew where this was going and cold sweat began to form on his brow as the realization took root. Still, Hanako continued on:

"The solution was the Divine Tree. See, Earth wasn't unique. Many worlds across the universe had Divine Trees, but eating the fruit of just one wouldn't provide enough power. They needed the power of many trees if they wanted to break the seals and unleash the monsters; so, they went from planet to planet, draining each of its power and eating the fruit of its Divine Tree. Fearful for what might come, the Ōtsutsuki dispatched guardians to worlds known to have Divine Trees, in order to protect them from Momoshiki and Kinshiki. Kaguya... was one such guardian."

"What does this have to do with Sasuke Uchiha's vanishing?" the voice belonged to Kakashi and, like Naruto, his face was grave—very grave.

Hanako adjusted her glasses, then stared straight ahead, "After eating the fruit of Earth's Divine Tree, Kaguya writes that she gained the ability to open portals to new worlds. Once such world, the very world of snow where the scroll was discovered, was the sealing place of one of the monsters Momoshiki and Kinshiki were attempting to unleash. The sealing stone there is a Moon, just like ours."

Naruto crossed his hands in front of his face and closed his eyes. He thought back to the fight against Kaguya—to the moment he and Sasuke made contact with her and activated the Sage of Six Paths' special technique. Within moments, Kaguya had been stripped of her power and sealed away in a new moon. It was the same technique that the Sage and his younger brother had used to lock up Kaguya the first time.

 _The Six Paths —_ _Chibaku Tensei,_ he thought. _The ancient_ _Ōtsutsuki must've used something similar to seal up those monsters... But if the power of multiple Divine Trees were needed to undo the seal... Just how powerful were these monsters?_

"The scroll ends there," Hanako said. "Its an abrupt ending. I have reason to believe that there may be others spread out through the rest of Kaguya's dimensions. But, to answer your question, Lord Sixth, according to Lord Hokage, Sasuke went to investigate the icy realm when he went missing. I'm hopeful that I'm wrong, but... I believe that something came out of that world's sealing stone..."

A deathly silence fell over the room.

"Are you certain your translations are accurate?" Kiba Inuzunka asked; there was a hint of quivering in his voice. "If Kaguya really was from another world, then how could you possibly know what language she spoke, or how to read it?"

"That's where I come in," Naruto announced, standing to his full height. "Thank you, Hanako."

She bowed and quickly returned to her seat.

"During her era, Kaguya ruled the entire planet with an iron fist." Naruto explained. "For a time, the planet was united under one language, one that is well known to those who study ancient texts, like Hanako. It originated in the Land of Ancestors, which was the seat of Kaguya's power, but is no longer used there. In fact, the only place the language is still spoken is on the continent adjacent to ours—the Land of Dreams. Shikamaru?"

"Right," Shikamaru said, then stood up shoulder-to-shoulder with Naruto. "The Land of Dreams is pretty mysterious—not to mention old—but when I heard Lord Hokage and Hanako discussing this language matter, I decided to do some investigating myself and discovered something significant. Like the rest of the world, the Land of Dreams was once under Kaguya's control. And, sometime during her reign, a temple was built there in her honor. There is little record of this temple available to us—not much has been written about it, but what _has_ been written about it is pretty disturbing. Tales of disappearances permeate the region surrounding the temple."

"If we're going to find out what happened to Sasuke-kun, then that'd be a good place to start." Sakura said, more to herself than to the gathering.

"Precisely," Naruto said as Shikamaru took his seat once again. "With so little written about it, all I've got is a hunch, but it's a hunch worth investigating. If Sasuke really _did_ encounter something in Kaguya's dimension, then we can't risk it coming to our world. The entire shinobi world would be in danger. Therefore, I am declaring this to be an S-rank mission! I have tasked Shikamaru with compiling three four-man teams to go to the Land of Dreams and investigate that temple."

"That's a lot of manpower," Konohamaru warned. "With the Chūnin Exams so close... I..."

"What _about_ the Chūnin Exams?" Sai asked from his seat on the opposite side of Hinata.

"Preparations for the Exams will continue on schedule," Naruto replied. "This mission is top secret. No one beyond those in this room are to know about it. Those jōnin who do not get assigned to this mission, and do not have other assignments, will be redirected to help me make the necessary preparations for the journey to Kirigakure. Understood?"

Silence: the jōnin's way of letting Naruto know his plans would be unopposed.

"Good," he said. "This meeting is adjourned."

* * *

Boruto Uzumaki sat stunned outside the window of the Hokage's office, atop the Academy. With most of the village's jōnin in the meeting with is father, it was almost _too_ easy to sneak up close to the window and listen in. Sitting right next to it, he could hear everything being said without being seen. Already, he had made his choice about what he was going to do with the information he had just overheard: somehow, someway, he was going to the Land of Dreams—Chūnin Exams be damned—in order to find a way to rescue his Uncle Sasuke. He didn't know how he'd go about it yet, but he knew he was _going_ to and he was going to find a way to bring Sarada with him. However, the second he went to move, he was frozen by the sound of someone walking along the wooden roof in his direction. He jerked around just in time to see the former Sixth Hokage, Kakashi Hatake, coming his way.

 _Damn,_ he thought. _Busted_.

"You don't give up easy, do you, Boruto?" Kakashi said, slipping his hands into his pockets; he sighed. "Good thing I had one of my shadow clones tail you. I thought I told you: This doesn't concern you. Go home."

The anger came back fast—the same white-hot anger he had felt when Sarada had practically told him the same thing earlier that day. The fear Boruto had accumulated over being caught quickly gave way to this anger and, before he knew it, his posture straightened up and he bore his teeth angrily at Kakashi. He balled his fists so tight that the skin began to lose its color.

"No way!" he proclaimed with a loud snarl. "I'm not gonna go home and run away like you and Sarada! I heard _everything_! Uncle Sasuke is in real danger! When my dad got taken by those freaks a year ago, Uncle Sasuke rushed to rescue him—now it's _my_ turn! I won't abandon my comrades! I'll go to this 'Land of Dreams' and find Uncle Sasuke even if I have to do it by myself!"

 _Don't underestimate me! I don't quit and I don't run! You can act tough all you want! You're not gonna scare me off!_

Kakashi's clone heard Naruto's voice as clearly as if the young, blond shinobi had stood in front of him and said it right to his face. But he wasn't there; this was Naruto's voice from years ago, coming back just as it had hours earlier in Guy's room. And, just like that time, a smile began to form underneath his trademark black mask. There was a reason he had denied Boruto's request to train him earlier that day. It wasn't at all for the reasons he gave the boy—he had to be certain that he wasn't raising another Sasuke, who would turn to darkness before being brought back to the light by someone like Naruto... and, in the end, his hunch (like many before) had been proven correct. Admire Sasuke, though he did, Boruto was more like his father than he cared to admit. His smile was now visible to Boruto who grew even more indignant.

"What's so funny?!" the hot-headed young shinobi shouted.

"You pass," Kakashi said proudly.

Boruto's angry demeanor wavered slightly. "Huh? I pass?"

Kakashi's clone turned around and began to walk away. "If you still want to train with me, meet me at the entrance to the Forest of Death at sunrise tomorrow. Come prepared; it won't be easy."

With that, the clone vanished in an eruption of white smoke, leaving a stunned Boruto still standing atop the Academy with nothing to say...

* * *

 **A/N:** Okay, this chapter was much more content-heavy. It's also a thousand or so words longer than the previous chapters have been, overall. That's why it took me a bit longer to get it ready. Nevertheless, I hope this chapter was enjoyable. I look forward to hearing from you guys about this one. Review! Review until you can't review no more; let me know how its going, or whatever else you want to say. And don't forget to favorite and follow as well!

Until next time!

Later.


	6. Eyes in the Dark

The sun was just beginning to peak over the horizon when Boruto Uzumaki arrived at Konoha's Forty-Fourth Training Ground—known to the villagers as the "Forest of Death." The grounds consisted of a tremendous forest, surrounded by a large, metal fence, on the far end of the village. The forest was dangerous and, as a result, only jōnin were usually permitted to enter. However, there were exceptions. Whenever Konoha hosted the Chūnin Exams, inevitably one round took place in the Forest of Death. That had been the tradition since long before Boruto had been born. Surveying the area, it didn't take him long to realize that Kakashi wasn't there yet. He exhaled an annoyed sigh; he had made sure to get up extra early so that he wouldn't be late and lose the opportunity to train with Kakashi, and yet the former Hokage wasn't even there to greet him. In fact, it was almost an hour before he showed up, by which time Boruto was preparing to give up and go back home to bed.

"Where have you been?!" Boruto yelled angrily and jabbed his finger accusingly at the older shinobi. "You said to meet you here at sunrise and that was an hour ago!"

"Sorry about that," Kakashi yawned. "I was reading an old favorite of mine and lost track of the time."

The former Hokage was indeed carrying a book under his arm, Boruto could see—a book that was well-worn if the cover was any indication. The cover was a faded green and bore the image of a kneeling man with hearts floating around him in word bubbles. As Kakashi grew closer, Boruto was able to make out the the title, which had also faded with wear and time: _Icha Icha Tactics_. Boruto's nose immediately scrunched up in horror; he recognized that title. A few years ago, he had seen the very same book in the Konohagakure Library, back when his mother frequently took he and Himawari. He remembered, heat rising in his cheeks, wondering what the book was about and attempting to check it out from the library. Even more vividly, he remembered how his mother, in a rare outburst, had snatched the novel from him and told him never to touch it again. When his father found out what happened, he had laughed for days and eventually told Boruto—in privacy, of course—that the books were written "for adults." Boruto had asked how his father had known that, but Naruto had merely chuckled and walked away.

 _Great, Old Man Kakashi is a perv,_ Boruto thought with an amused grimace.

"Well, come on. We've got work to do," the oblivious former Hokage said, approaching the nearest gate.

Boruto followed Kakashi until the two shinobi were directly under the shadow of the massive gate nearest them. There, Kakashi launched into his lesson:

"Konohagakure Forty-Fourth Training Ground," he began cryptically. "Also known as the Forest of Death; however, did you know it had another name?"

Boruto raised an eyebrow in confusion, but shook his head anyways.

Kakashi continued: "When I was a genin, the forest was known as the Sea of Trees and also... the Blood Forest. I'm sure you've probably already guessed why it might have these names—truth is, this place is dangerous. Every time the Chūnin Exams are held in Konoha, part of the proceedings are held here, and, inevitably, people die."

At this, Boruto gulped. He wasn't naive; he knew that people had died here, but to hear its past names coupled with that knowledge unnerved him. He also knew what Kakashi was getting at: the Chūnin Exams wouldn't just be a promotion exam, they would potentially be life and death. But Kakashi wasn't done with his explanation yet.

"You're probably wondering why I brought you here, and the answer is really simple. I won't beat around the bush. The first time your father and Sasuke took the Chūnin Exams, they competed here in the Second Exam—a survival stage where their lives were on the line and, even if they succeeded, they weren't guaranteed to become chūnin. You talk about following Sasuke's footsteps and surpassing your father; you talk about going after Sasuke in the Land of Dreams, even if that meant going on your own; but the truth is, you don't know what that implicates."

"That's not true," Boruto protested. "When Dad was taken last year, I helped—"

"You did," Kakashi interjected. "But you didn't do it _alone_. The Five Kage, Sasuke, and Naruto were there with you. Relying on your comrades is fine, but there are times when shinobi are given missions only they can complete."

Boruto looked down at his feet and, instantly, there were familiar voices in his head.

The first one was Kakashi's from yesterday: _Furthermore, when he disappeared, Sasuke was investigating another space-time using an ability completely unique to him. The simple fact is that I cannot get to him. Neither can Naruto._

The second belonged to his father, also from yesterday: _Sasuke Uchiha vanished while carrying out a top secret mission on behalf of the village and the Shinobi Union._

"Just like Uncle Sasuke, huh?" he said after thinking it through.

Kakashi nodded solemnly, "Yes, just like Sasuke. Just like _you_ —or, at least, it would've been you if I hadn't spied on you yesterday. Which brings me to the reason I brought you here. I want you to remember something, Boruto. I meant what I said yesterday: none of us have the means to save Sasuke. The mission to the Land of Dreams isn't a mission to find him, but to find out what _happened_ to him. When I agreed to train you, I did so under the pretense of preparing you for the Chūnin Exams—never forget that."

Once more, Boruto looked down, but finally sighed and nodded.

"Good," Kakashi continued. "Secondly, I brought you here because you need to be prepared for the dangers you will undoubtably face in Kirigakure. And finally... You need to know what it means to actually work alone, without your teammates, just as you originally intended."

Boruto hated how much this exercise was beginning to sound like a punishment, but didn't voice this thought to Kakashi. He could at least acknowledge that passing such a trial would better prepare him to meet his objectives. Therefore, he swallowed his pride and his angry words and awaited instruction.

"This is your mission," Kakashi said. "At the center of this forest, approximately ten kilometers from this gate, is a tower. If you can make it to that tower by nightfall, then I shall continue training you the next morning. If you fail, I will end your training and send you home. Deal?" Boruto nodded, Kakashi nodded, and then he continued. "The forest is full of dangers, so remember your training from the Academy; but the flora and fauna will not be your only concern. I have enlisted the help of some other genin to test you. Their instructions are to prevent you from entering the tower at all costs, however, they are not to kill you, nor are you to kill them."

The information was a lot to take in, but Boruto knew that he was being tested even now. He had to pass. He _would_ pass. Passing would grant him more training, which would bring him a step closer to Sasuke.

"Understood," he said.

Kakashi nodded. "Then get to it."

* * *

By the time Boruto could no longer see the gates indicating the perimeter of the Forest of Death, the sun was high over the village of Konoha; however, inside the forest, little light shone through, making it dark and otherwise creepy. He stuck to traveling in the canopy, leaping from tree branch to tree branch while scanning his surroundings for potential dangers. During a particularly memorable lesson during his days at the Academy, he recalled Shino quizzing them over the inhabitants of the Forest—among which were giant snakes, flying leeches, tigers, and even bears. Additionally, many of the plant species were poisonous and were dangerous to touch, much less consume. After the quiz, Shino had mentioned that—while not entirely safe—the canopy was the best way of conversing the Forest.

As he traveled from tree-to-tree, he considered Kakashi's words shortly before they parted ways—somewhere within this forest was another team of genin searching for the perfect opportunity to ambush him. Boruto landed on a fairly large tree branch to consider his options. Unlike his mother and Himawari, he couldn't utilize the Byakugan to watch his surroundings; unlike his father, he had no use of Sage Mode to simply sense chakra; however, there was one other strategy he _could_ take advantage of in a moment of need, such as this. Crossing his fingers, he mentally invoked the Shadow Clone Technique—causing a total of four clones to burst into existence alongside him. Upon their creation, the clones were already savvy to their objective, and thus spread out in all directions.

 _Remember, Boruto,_ he remembered his father saying once, during their past lessons together. _Shadow Clones can be pretty useful. Other than multiplying the number of attackers, they're also useful for information-gathering. Should something ever happen to one of your clones, their experiences will return to you and become part of your knowledge._

That lesson, in particular, had stuck with Boruto. Now he could put it to the test. With his clones spread out through the Forest, he would be alerted to danger before it had the chance to reach him. They would also act as decoys for any of his potential enemies.

 _They don't call me an elite genin for nothin',_ Boruto smirked before taking off again.

The deeper Boruto went into the forest, the thicker the brush became. Even in the canopy, he found himself slowed and hindered by tangled branches. He couldn't risk drawing unnecessary attention by just blasting through them with his Rasengan. He smirked to himself when he considered that blasting through such obstacles would be _exactly_ what his father would've done. There were also times when he was forced to take cover in order to avoid predators in the area. Apparently, the giant snakes in the Forest could make it up pretty high into the trees. He resolved himself to be more careful after that. His journey through the thicket continued until he caught sight of a dark brook carving its way through the forest floor. Only then, finally, did he descend to the ground.

 _If this is the stream that divides the Forest in two, then I should be getting cl_ —

His thoughts were quickly brought to a screeching halt as a flood of images flashed behind his eyes. They were memories that weren't his, yet were at the same time; they were images and memories of another part of the Forest—a part he certainly hadn't been to personally. This, then, he concluded, must have been the memories of one of his clones. They were full of vivid imagery from the time the clone had departed until the time of its demise. He saw it all, but, curiously, he did not see the clone's attacker. It had clearly known it was being followed, but seemed to have been destroyed before it could locate and visualize its enemy. Boruto concluded that no animal could be so cunning—this had to be the work of the genin Kakashi had sent after him.

 _That clone,_ he thought. _Was behind me aways... Still, I should probably keep my guard up._

Putting his clone's fate behind him, Boruto thought back on his lessons with Shino at the Academy once again. After the quiz on the Forty-Fourth Training Ground, Shino had shown his class the layout of the Forest. The layout was fairly easy to remember—it was that simplistic. The entire Forest was contained inside a massive, circular enclosure. At the center, just as Kakashi had indicated, there was a tower and also a stream that split the Forest in two divisions. Conveniently, the tower was located along the banks of the central stream, which meant...

 _All I have to do is go upstream from here, and I should find it with plenty of time to spare!_ he thought cheerfully.

He had barely taken a step forward towards his destination when, all of a sudden, he found himself frozen in his tracks again as images played behind his eyes. Another one of his clones had met its untimely demise in the Forest; and, like the last one, there was no sign of the clone's attacker. Also unlike the previous clone, this one was closer to the stream, meaning his pursuer was getting a little too close for comfort. Boruto crossed his arms and considered his options. On the one hand, he could risk an ambush and continue towards the tower—he might still beat his pursuer there. Or... Or, he could attempt to draw his pursuer into the open and deal with him or her one-on-one. He didn't necessarily want to risk ambush with a foe that was capable of doing it without being seen, so that only left one optio—

A deep snarl coming from his left startled Boruto from his contemplations. He turned in time enough to see an enormous tiger step out of the brush. Like much of the fauna found in the Forest of Death, this tiger wasn't an ordinary size—it was super-sized, easily dwarfing Boruto himself. The tiger hunched down, assuming a pouncing posture which Boruto was sure would not lead to good things. He quickly prepared some chakra for combat. It was easy enough—he hadn't expended too much by producing those four Shadow Clones earlier.

Then, reaching into his shuriken holster, he took out four of the sharp, metal stars and hurled them at the tiger instantaneously. The tiger reacted predictably, darting out of the way of the sharp weapons—but Boruto was ready for this. Each shuriken was also attached to a nearly invisible wire, which he manipulated skillfully with his fingers—a technique Sasuke had taught him, the Manipulated Shuriken Technique. The shuriken circled around and the tiger let out a loud roar as it leaped to avoid the spinning stars. As it would happen, that is precisely what Boruto wanted it to do. Chakra emerged from his right palm, spinning itself into a nearly perfect sphere: the Rasengan. In the past year, since the previous Chūnin Exam, he had been practicing his father's technique and honing it. Now his Rasengan was a normal size and of equal potency to a typical Rasengan. Still airborne, the tiger had nowhere to go. Boruto's strategy had worked flawlessly. Leaping up into the air, Boruto aimed his Rasengan for the tiger's exposed underbelly, intending to blast it up into the canopy—

—but his plan never came to fruition. Just before he could strike, a third wave of foreign memories came rushing into his mind. A third clone had perished at the hands of Boruto's pursuer. More disturbingly, however, the clone seemed to have been killed in a sloppier fashion than the rest. Boruto was able to catch sight of a white sleeve just before the clone's memory went blank. However, before he could make sense of the information, he was brought crashing back into reality as the tiger swiped him with its immense paw, knocking him out of the air and _hard_ to the ground. His Rasengan vanished in the process, as he lost the focus to maintain the powerful, spiraling chakra.

Almost immediately, he noticed a problem: he couldn't see out of his left eye. The pain in that region stung like a hot iron beneath his skin and, when he went to lightly touch the wounded spot, he found that the entire left part of his face was drenched in blood. Four long, deep scratches now marred that portion of his face and, as a result, he had lost sight in his left eye—it was completely gone.

 _Shit!_ he cursed to himself as he saw the tiger preparing to pounce again.

Reacting on instinct as the tiger jumped, Boruto made a rat sign with his hands and thrust his palms outward towards the raging creature. "Wind Release: Air Current Wild Dance!"

Chakra-laced wind rushed out of Boruto's palms, slamming into the tiger with tremendous force and sending it flying backwards into the brush. A few moments later, he heard the impact in the form of a sickening _CRUNCH_. He knew what the result would be. As hard and as fast as the tiger had hit the ground, it had almost certainly broken its back and several bones important for movement. If it hadn't died instantaneously, it would die soon.

Boruto shakily rose to his feet. The pain in his now-missing eye was extraordinary—unlike any pain he had ever felt before in his life. The bleeding had lessened, but it was still slowly trickling down his face. Covering his wound with his hand, he limped towards the edge of the stream and gently attempted to wash the blood off of his face and out of his wounds. That brought the pain back twice as bad, now. His entire face was _throbbing_ with pain and tears were involuntarily forming in his remaining eye, as if his very body was pleading with him to stop. He was about to get up again when the fourth and final flood of memories rushed through his mind. The final clone was gone and, in its memories, he clearly heard the fighting he had just been doing with the tiger. The clone, and his pursuer, were close and that meant that whichever genin Kakashi had sent was coming. Before he had time to react to the impending danger, however, a familiar snarl rose from the woods behind him and he felt his heart drop into his stomach.

The tiger had returned and, while it was certainly bloodied and bruised, it was nowhere near as damaged as Boruto had predicted it would be. Perhaps the blow had been more cushioned than he had thought it sounded. Either way, he knew he was screwed. The tiger appeared twice as angry as it had when he fought it moments before. Already it was crouching for the killing blow.

At that moment, fear rushed up in Boruto. A fear he hadn't felt since Momoshiki and Kinshiki appeared in the arena during the last Chūnin Exams and defeated his father right in front of him. It was a cold fear that griped his stomach and slowly spread into his veins—it was as if his very blood was frozen solid. Then, from out of nowhere, chakra burst into his system. It wove its way through the pathways in his body, filling his limbs with much-needed warmth; and then it traveled upwards into his remaining eye. The first thing that he noticed was the way his sight changed. All of a sudden, he couldn't see the tiger itself anymore—instead, he could only see the _interior_ of its body, such as its vital organs. Veins bulged around his eye. A moment later, he realized what was happening.

At long last, his Byakugan had awakened.

The tiger lunged for him one last time, and again Boruto reacted on instinct—upon a lesson his mother had taught him. He thrust out his palm, which connected with the tiger's chest right where he could clearly see its beating heart. He released as much chakra as he could at the point of impact, and the chakra did exactly as he intended it to. The tiger's heart stopped and it died, but not before its full weight fell upon Boruto, knocking him to the ground and forcing him to roll away before he could be crushed underneath it.

When he finally stopped rolling, Boruto remained laying on the ground. His stamina was all but used up; his chakra was low; and the pain in the left side of his face was intense, yet he also had noticed something else: his newly awakened Byakugan was allowing him to see his surroundings despite the fact that his face was buried in the grass. Despite his low chakra reserves, he was surprised that his Byakugan was draining so little—he hardly noticed it. It _did,_ however, allow him to notice an approaching chakra. Sore and bruised, he fought to push himself up, until he was on his hands and knees. It was at that precise moment that his pursuer finally made himself known. Boruto saw the mystery genin's candles touch down in the grass, only a few meters away from him.

The newcomer was dressed in white, with a large purple rope worn like a belt around his waist. He was pale-skinned and, Boruto realized, probably about Boruto's age. His hair, which was a pale blonde, was slicked back in an ugly hairdo that would've normally made Boruto cringe (if he could cringe without hurting right now). But, most noticeable about the newcomer was his eyes. Boruto's Byakugan had discovered them first; they seemed to glow with a blue brilliance through the chakra-seeing eyes of Boruto's dōjutsu. However, it wasn't until Boruto deactivated his Byakugan that he truly noticed what they were. Both eyes were red and, around the pupil, there were three tomoe. Once again, Boruto felt the cold chill of fear settle in his stomach.

The newcomer had the Sharingan.


	7. 中心

_Elsewhere..._

Six figures, wrapped in shadows prostrate themselves before a seventh, who was seated upon a throne of bones. A tattered flag was pinned to the stone wall behind the throne, an artifact from an age long ago, and it bore but two symbols which were faded by centuries of wear. On the left side of the throne, the faded image of an indigo moon was woven into the flag; on the right side, the rusted imprint of what had once been a vibrant, yellow sun was imprinted upon the cloth. The two, together, were both a symbol and a warning to all who saw them—even the six assembled below, before the throne. After a moment of pregnant silence, the figure seated upon the throne spoke in a thundering voice:

"Report."

"Hiruko-sama," one of the dark figures from below began. "We have received reports that three teams of outsiders have arrived on the shores of the Land of Dreams. From their attire, we suspect them of being shinobi. Their forehead protectors would indicate the shinobi village from the Land of Fire... Konohagakure."

A deep rumble, like the distant rolls of thunder, came from the figure on the throne—perhaps it was the closest thing to laughter the figure could produce. Those that lay prostrate before its throne seemed to bow their heads a little lower, as if the sound signified some dark, terrible thing. When the thing on the throne stopped cackling to itself, it let out a sigh of—seemingly—relief.

"He's finally found us... The Boy of Miracles, who isn't really a boy anymore," the thing called Hiruko murmured. "Well, then... It would be rude not to greet them, yes? Shiva, send my regards to our guests."

A woman, from the six figures beneath Hiruko's throne, stood up. She was a tall, thin woman, dressed in a kimono of the purest white—the back of which was adorned with the same emblems emblazoned on their flag. Her skin was pale—paler than any normal human's skin would be; she almost looked as though she was part of death itself. Her eyes were an empty, soulless shade of lavender, her eyebrows were but thin lines above them, and two horn-like protrusions stuck out of her forehead, giving her the appearance of a beautiful, female _oni_. Despite being kept up in a ponytail, her snow-white hair was still fairly long, reaching down to her waist. She took a deep bow before Hiruko and said:

"As you command, so shall it be done."

The shadows seemed to grow darker in the room. Thicker and _heavier_. Then, as if summoned by an unheard whisper, the blackness began to converge around her, swallowing up her pure-colored figure until there was nothing but darkness. The black shadowy mass receded slowly, merging into the pre-existing shadows still pooled throughout the dark throne room.

Then she was gone.

####

Taking twelve jōnin and chūnin away on a mission was a greater risk than Shikamaru Nara cared to think about; but Naruto had been right to take the threat so seriously. Where the echoes of Kaguya Ōtsutsuki were involved, no amount of preparation was ever enough—and this mission was no different. The Land of Dreams was unlike any country Shikamaru had ever been to; it was completely overgrown with foliage, and there were no signs of a decent population size at all. There were certainly _ruins_ around, indicating that civilization of some sort had once existed here. But ruins were all that was left—centuries old, too, from the looks of it. The layout and architecture of the buildings, though... They way they seemed to be built into the cliffsides and carved into canyon walls... They are what got Shikamaru thinking. He'd seen it before somewhere. It almost reminded him of... _the Moon_.

His eyes snapped open.

 _That's_ where he had seen them! The Ōtsutsuki villages on the _Moon!_ He had seen them while they were searching for Hanabi Hyūga, who had been kidnapped by Toneri... Ōtsutsuki. Right... He'd been one of them. The supposed "last living member" of Hamura Ōtsutsuki's ancient lineage. Shikamaru felt the sweat beginning to bead along his brow. He tried to talk himself out of it: the Ōtsutsuki, under Kaguya, had once ruled the planet—it made sense that some ancient ruins might resemble their architecture, then, especially in a country that was known to have shown reverence to Kaguya... but... Something didn't feel right. Suddenly, Shikamaru felt as though they had opened up a whole can of worms that he desperately wished he could put the cap back on.

He huffed. "How troublesome..."

"You say something, Shikamaru?" Kiba Inuzuka yawned as he emerged from one of the nearest tents. The Konoha teams were presently camped in one of the main valleys leading inland into the Land of Dreams.

"It's nothing," Shikamaru said. "How are the others?"

"Restless," Kiba snorted. "We've seen nothing but ruins all day. Does anyone even _live_ in this country?"

"Supposedly," Shikamaru said and then shrugged. "Not much is known about this place, to be honest. The few maps of it that do exist are old and outdated, but we know roundabout where the temple is. A day or two more and we should be there... and we'll have our answers."

Just then, Akamaru emerged from the same tent. The ninken was huge for a dog, but he was also old. In his old age, Akamaru had begun to uncontrollably shake as his nervous system suffered from all of his years as, effectively, an animal shinobi. Many times, Shikamaru had recommended that Kiba retire Akamaru and allow him to enjoy his old age in peace, but both Kiba and Akamaru were adamantly against it. To them, they were the dynamic duo—inseparable and unstoppable. Even though Kiba had found something resembling love in Tamaki, Akamaru remained the center of his world, and vice versa. Shikamaru admired their bond to no end. After all, they were closer than most _humans_. But, admire them though he did, he couldn't help but express his concern.

"Kiba," he said, an air of caution in his voice; he knew Kiba despised this topic. "Are you sure Akamaru is up to such a strenuous mission? There's a reason it's S-rank, after all."

"Whaddaya talkin' about, Shikamaru?" Kiba scoffed. "Akamaru may be old, but he's far from done. Right, pal?"

Despite his age, Akamaru let out a hearty bark and that was the end of Shikamaru's protest. So long as they didn't hinder the mission, which they never did, he could do nothing to force Akamaru to rest and stay off the trail. Sighing, he decided to change the subject:

"Well, it's getting late." he said, nodding in the direction of the setting sun. "Go and grab Hinata. You, me, her, and Akamaru can do one last sweep of the area before we all turn in for the night."

"You've got it," Kiba replied before running off.

Fifteen minutes later, the four of them were in the woods, scanning the perimeter. Hinata's Byakugan made checking their surroundings considerably easier, and, combined with Kiba and Akamaru's sense of smell, Shikamaru was certain that they would weed out any insecurities that existed before turning in for the night. Already, the sun was touching the horizon, casting the sky in an odd blend of darkness and light. They were just about done when Shikamaru began to feel the call of sleep wash over his body. Their journey had been an exhausting one, so he looked forward to setting up watches and then catching some much needed rest.

"See anything, Hinata?" Shikamaru yawned lazily.

She shook her head. "No."

She had barely said anything since the group departed from the village. Shikamaru had felt bad for enlisting her on such a dangerous mission; he knew she hated to leave her children home without her, but her mastery of the Byakugan was essential to the mission's success. Despite being one of the few chūnin that he had selected, Hinata was easily one of the most powerful fighters he had brought along—even when compared to the jōnin. She had improved so much since the war that he truly believed her abilities now rivaled that of Neji's at the time of his passing.

"How about you two?" Shikamaru asked, turning towards Kiba and Akamaru. "Smell anything?"

"Negative," Kiba chortled and Akamaru yapped an agreement.

Shikamaru sighed with relief. "Alright then, let's head bac—"

"Wait!" Kiba shouted. His entire demeanor had changed in a matter of seconds, which made Shikamaru's heart jump up into his throat.

"What is it?" Shikamaru asked.

"A new scent," Kiba murmured. Next to him, Akamaru bent down and began to growl.

"Hinata?"

Again, Hinata shook her head. "I don't see anything."

"There," Kiba insisted. "It's right the—"

"Here."

The voice was female. Shikamaru realized that after the fact. He began to turn around in time to witness a beautiful woman emerge from the shadows pooling at his feet. He only caught the glimpse, and then she fell on him with ferocious speed...

* * *

 _In Konohagakure..._

Boruto was barely on his feet. The left side of his face was screaming with pain and the fatigue in his body was affecting his ability to mold chakra properly. He knew he was in trouble if this newcomer, the one with the Sharingan, decided to ignore his injury and attack. He had other problems too. Though the blood flow had certainly begun to lessen, he had still lost _a lot_ of blood. His entire body was trembling and, now, he was beginning to question how much longer he would be able to remain conscious. Fighting, even with his new Byakugan, was out of the question. All he could manage for speech was:

"Wh-w-w-w-w-wh-who ar-r-re y-you?"

The other boy tilted his head and gazed at him with a curious expression, as though he wasn't quite sure how to handle the situation he found himself in. Boruto was curious himself. The boy's Sharingan indicated that he was of the Uchiha clan—a clan Boruto had previously thought to consist of his Uncle Sasuke, Aunt Sakura, and Sarada. Still, his questions only came second to the mind-numbing pain that was causing darkness to touch the edges of his vision. He felt himself begin to wobble; that's when the boy finally decided to speak.

"You... You're the one _he_ sent me to find..." the boy with the Sharingan said. "He... said you were strong... You're don't _look_ strong, though."

At any other moment, Boruto would've protested that comment and probably beat the other boy up for making it; but the fact was that he couldn't stand any longer. His legs gave out and he found himself back on his knees, though he knew he couldn't even maintain _that_ position for much longer. Darkness was threatening to engulf his vision entirely.

"I guess... it can't be helped.." the boy said. "I'll take you back."

Those were the last words Boruto heard before everything went black and he fainted.

* * *

Shikamaru Nara, Hinata Uzumaki, Kiba Inuzuka, and Akamaru were in a fight for their lives. The newcomer—the woman—was strong beyond measure. None of their attacks had worked. Not the Shadow Possession Technique, not the Gentle Fist, and not the Fang Passing Fang. Sweat poured down Shikamaru's face as he pondered the last few moments of combat. So far, he could confirm that the woman had some sort of control over shadows—perhaps a technique related to his? This ability made his Shadow-manipulation techniques completely useless against her. Furthermore, she possessed the ability to fly, easily allowing her to avoid Hinata's attempts at taijutsu. Finally, her speed was such that even Kiba and Akamaru—the fastest members of their team—together weren't able to land a strike on her. Even with all of that considered, there was something else bothering him.

 _Where are the others?_

They were close to camp. No more than a few kilometers. With the battle growing as intense as it was, the camp had surely heard the fighting, especially with the explosion that resulted from Kiba and Akamaru's attack. The remaining nine shinobi back at camp should've heard and come running, yet no one had. Deep inside, Shikamaru knew something had happened there. It wasn't a pleasant thought—in fact, the thought alone made his stomach churn—but his instincts had never once let him down. He didn't think they were going to start now.

 _Dammit, think!_ he barked at himself. _There's got to be a way to beat her._ Everyone _has weaknesses!_

"Allow me to answer your question," the woman said. She was floating just above the trees, where she had the four of them cornered like rats. Her voice was deceptively polite, but Shikamaru knew better to be fooled. If he let his guard down for an instant, she would kill them all. He was sure of it. Her soft, pink lips bent upward into a crooked smile. "There isn't one—not a single weakness someone like you can exploit."

Shikamaru felt his eyes go wide. _How did she_ — _?_

A chill of dread traveled up Shikamaru's spine as he watched the woman's soulless eyes begin to change. The veins around her eyes began to bulge in an eerily familiar fashion and her pupils finally seemed to reveal themselves. There was no doubt in his mind. He was seeing the Byakugan.

"Fool," she said, and there was ice in her voice. "You cannot hide your heart from my eyes."

"That's... That's just..." he heard Kiba spatter from beside him. "That's just not... possible! The Byakugan!"

 _Right,_ Shikamaru thought. _He didn't fight against Toneri. He stayed back in the village... Which means he doesn't know..._

"Kiba!" Shikamaru's voice was loud and full of desperation. "Don't do anything reckles—"

"I'm ending this," the woman declared, cutting him off. "Defend yourselves."

Once again, the woman's speed was marvelous. She was on them in an instant, cutting them off from one another before they had an opportunity to develop a strategy. However, Shikamaru was hardly the one to be caught _completely_ off-guard. Even in a situation like this, he had a plan of his own. He knew his shadows wouldn't work. Not on _her_ anyways; but there was always other avenues. He leaped back as she advanced and formed the Rat seal. His shadow twisted and expanded, catching Hinata, Kiba, and Akamaru's shadows relatively quickly. With another leap and a bit of forceful manipulation with his chakra, he was able to pull them out of the way of the mysterious woman's attack. Then it was only a matter of counterattacking.

 _I'll use Asuma's technique,_ he thought.

He made the seals exactly as Asuma had so long ago. Snake, Rat, Snake, Tiger. Chakra filled his mouth and he released it as a black cloud of gunpowder, which blanketed and engulfed the Byakugan-wielding woman. The cloud of gunpowder would limit the range of her deadly dōjutsu, but also... He clicked his teeth together, crunching down on a piece of flint that he had placed there when they had ventured into the forest. Being prepared... it was one of Shikamaru's few talents. The cloud of gunpowder ignited into a brilliant explosion that climbed above the treetops.

 _Fire Release: Ash Pile Burning!_

The shockwave from the blast sent the four Konohagakure comrades scattering backwards to prevent themselves from being caught in the deadly inferno. As smoke began to billow from the spot the woman had once occupied, Kiba began to celebrate excitedly.

"Hell yeah!" he whooped. "Leave it to Shikamaru! He fried that flying bitch!"

Even Hinata seemed to sigh with relief, but Shikamaru knew... He _knew_ it wouldn't be that easy. It wasn't over yet.

"You humans," he heard her voice before he even saw her reappear. "You _filthy_ humans... cannot... You _**cannot possibly use chakra properly!**_ "

When she appeared, Shikamaru realized that he too had made the mistake of relaxing after his last attack. The group was still spread out from evading her earlier attacks. She emerged from the shadows cast by the enormous pillar of smoke billowing out from the spot Shikamaru had blown up. Her kimono was charred in places, but she seemed otherwise unharmed—completely unaffected. _Like Toneri_ , he thought. He suddenly wished Naruto was there... Naruto could solve these kinds of situations, but Shikamaru couldn't... For all his intelligence, he just _couldn't_. Then, when she had fully emerged from the shadow, he saw it. The emblem. The emblem on the back of her kimono. It was the same. The same as _his_. Toneri. A sun and a moon together.

 _Ōtsutsuki... I knew it..._

"Shikamaru!" Kiba bellowed, snapping him from his daze.

Shikamaru snapped his head in the direction of Kiba's voice. The head of the Inuzuka clan was rushing the floating Ōtsutsuki woman and Shikamaru realized much too late that he was trying to distract her while Shikamaru attacked from behind. It wouldn't work, he knew. But _Kiba_ didn't know that. It was too late to stop him—Shikamaru also knew that; but that didn't stop him from yelling, as loud as his lungs would allow him, for his friend to _STOP_.

"Kiba!" Shikamaru roared. " _ **DON'T!**_ "

It was too late, remember? The woman's hand was already extended—a long bone was protruding from it. Naruto had warned him about this ability before they left the village; he had said it was one of Kaguya's powers, the All-Killing Ash Bone. Anything the bone pierced slowly disintegrated and there was absolutely _nothing_ you could do to stop it. In his desperation, Shikamaru formed another Rat sign, thinking that if he could just snatch Kiba's shadow with this Shadow Possession Technique, he could help him dodge just like he'd done last time. However, it was impossible. The bone-projectile had already been launched. His shadow would never make it in time. Somewhere, he heard Hinata scream for Kiba as well, but she must have realized how futile it was too.

It was over.

This was it...

Shikamaru watched helplessly as time seemed to slow—watched helplessly as the last moments of his friend's life flashed before his eyes. And then... And then... And then there was a sickening _crunch_ —the kind that is made when a spear made of bone cuts through clothing, flesh, bones, and arteries in a horrific killing blow. It only took a few moments for Shikamaru's eyes to catch up with what had happen, to adjust and focus in on that gut-wrenching moment. But it wasn't Kiba who had been pierced. Kiba, blood splattered across his face, looked horrified as he was knocked away from the one who had truly received the fatal blow. In his peripherals, Shikamaru saw Hinata cover her mouth with her hands and begin to cry.

The bone had struck, but not its intended target...

...and it was sticking out of...

Akamaru.

The canine, who must have sensed the danger before all of them had, had leaped in front of his beloved master in a final act of sacrifice—taking the blow and the punishment that was meant for Kiba. Shikamaru was absolutely speechless, and there was no time for such inaction. Kiba and Akamaru struck the ground hard. Akamaru was bleeding, but that was nothing compared to the doom that had been brought upon him.

"Akamaru?" Kiba's voice was soft at first.

Akamaru let out a pained whine and attempted to get up, but couldn't do so. The bone-lance had shattered several ribs and was piercing his lungs. At his old age, it was just too much for him.

" _ **AKAMARU!**_ "

"Tch," the voice was the woman's. Shikamaru barely noticed it. He was too stunned by what he was witnessing. "I missed. Oh well... I suppose I'll have to do _this_ instead."

The entire world seemed to jolt. Shikamaru quickly realized that he was completely immobile. He was able to control his head, but the rest of his body wouldn't respond. Not even to a twitch. He glanced down. There were shadows at his feet. Shadows... but somehow _darker_. That's when he noticed that Kiba and Hinata were trapped too, but not Akamaru.

 _Of course not Akamaru,_ a voice said coldly in the back of Shikamaru's mind. _Not Akamaru because he's... he's.._

"Akamaru? Akamaru?!" Kiba kept pleading; there were now tears rolling down his face. Shikamaru truly wondered if he had even noticed that he was ensnared.

Then, right before their eyes, Akamaru began to deteriorate. Literally flake away, as though he was not but ashes. In that moment, completely helpless against the enemy and in the aid of his comrades, Shikamaru finally broke. For the first time since Asuma died, he cried and cried _hard_. Nearby, he could hear Hinata doing the same. Their tears, however, didn't affect the woman who still floated above them.

"I could kill them all," she said, more to herself than her captives. "But... I think I won't... Besides... it'd be _so_ nice to have more marionettes."

Shikamaru's eyes widened. He finally understood what had happened to the rest of their teams at camp. Along the treeline, they moved, seemingly against their will until they surrounded the clearing. None of them spoke; Shikamaru assumed it was because the woman had a more complete control over them, but it no longer mattered _what_ was happening. The fact was that they, all of them, were probably going to die... or something worse was going to happen. They'd been caught... and it was all his fault.

Then, together, all at once, the captured Konoha shinobi began to sink into the shadows pooled beneath them. Shikamaru no longer knew what to do, so he simply looked at Kiba, who was now hysterical for Akamaru. Akamaru who was almost gone now... Kiba cried out, begging for the woman to take Akamaru with them, but the evil hanging above the forest paid no attention to his pleas. They continued sinking into the shadows until Shikamaru was almost eye-level with the ground. The last thing he saw was the remaining vestiges of Akamaru float away like dust in the wind. The last thing he thought of was the first time he'd met the duo, and the little pup Akamaru had been then...

The last thing he heard... was Kiba's screams.

* * *

 _Konohagakure Hospital..._

"He's stable," Ino Yamanaka said to both Naruto Uzumaki and Kakashi Hatake. "He's lost a lot of blood and his chakra reserves are low, but he should be fine in a few days."

"What about his eye?" Naruto asked quietly.

"Gone," Ino sighed. "I could repair the organ itself, even lighten the scarring so that it wouldn't be so obvious, but... it wouldn't do any good. Sakura said so too. Blindness isn't something Medical Ninjutsu can cure just yet."

"I understand."

Ino laid a hand on Naruto's shoulder. "I'll keep you up-to-date on his condition."

"Right. Thanks, Ino."

When she had left, Kakashi turned to Naruto. The former Hokage felt a great deal of remorse. Sure, the Forest of Death _was_ deadly—everyone knew that, even Boruto; but, regardless, he had never _meant_ for this to happen.

"Naruto, I...—" he began, but his formal pupil cut him off.

"I know," the Hokage replied. "You were just preparing him for the Chūnin Exams. When you're a shinobi, you have to take risks... even with your life. I know that... but..." Kakashi saw the tears fall from Naruto's eyes, and he saw the Hokage desperately try to wipe them away, in an attempt to appear strong.

 _Even with all his duties,_ Kakashi thought. _He's still a parent..._

"Naruto..."

"I'm just glad Shin was there," Naruto said quickly, gesturing to the boy who stood near the window of the waiting room, bathed in moonlight. "I knew it was the right decision to bring you all back to the village. Thank you, Shin."

"My name... not Shin. It's Tora," the boy replied matter-of-factly.

Naruto rubbed his head and, for that moment at least, he was back to the idiot 15 year old Kakashi had become so familiar with. "Right, I forgot Kabuto gave you all your own names... Tora, huh? I'll keep that in mind...!" Naruto's serious demeanor returned almost instantly. "I've got to get back to the office."

"Naruto," Kakashi repeated, and this time the Hokage turned. "Don't tell Hinata just yet. She's on a mission right now; it's important she stay focused."

"I know," Naruto replied solemnly. Then, with nothing more to say, he turned and left Kakashi alone in the waiting room with Tora.

After a moment, Kakashi walked over to stand next to the boy and gazed out the window at the moon, which looked full in the dark-night sky. For a moment, his thoughts were blank; then they turned to Boruto, his injury, and Boruto's parents. He still felt guilty. He didn't think he ever wouldn't feel that way after this, but if there was one thing he was certain of, it was this: he would finish training the boy. Tora told Kakashi about Boruto's Byakugan; he would need a mentor familiar with dōjutsu in order to learn to use it properly—and only Kakashi knew what combat was like with only one eye. Yes, he would train him... until Sasuke returned and could resume being his mentor, like he always should have. He paused another moment to glance back up at the moon. The ominous feeling of dread was back again, stronger than ever.

He turned to Tora: "Come on, Tora. Let's get you back to the orphanage."

The boy nodded and started out of the room. Kakashi made to follow him, but paused briefly to glance once more out the window. Eventually, he followed after Tora, but he still couldn't shake the feeling...

The feeling that something was about to go terribly wrong.

* * *

 **A/N:** So, usually I put some message to you guys in this section, but, from now on, the Author's Note is going to serve a different purpose. Whenever I introduce an original character, term, or location, I am going to give you a little bit of information about them in this section. That way, you're able to recognize who-is-who, what-is-what, and where-is-where. Here we go!

First, you're probably wondering why the chapter is named in Japanese kanji. The second thing you're probably wondering is what it means. The kanji 中心 is the word _chūshin_. It can have several English meanings. Center, heart, balance, focus, and core are all among those possible meanings. After reading the chapter, you can probably find out why it is called that. The word itself was selected based on the narration about Kiba and Akamaru towards the beginning of the chapter: _Akamaru remained the **center**_ (heart, core, focus—you get what I mean) _of his world, and vice versa._

Next, you were introduced to seven new characters in this chapter. Hiruko Ōtsutsuki (大筒木蛭子, _Ōtsutsuki Hiruko_ ), is the dark figure seated upon a throne of bones. Then we have Shiva Ōtsutsuki (大筒木シヴァ, _Ōtsutsuki Shiva_ ). Like all members of the Ōtsutsuki clan, their names are taken from Japanese mythology. Hiruko is one of the names for the Japanese kami, Ebisu, who was the first child of Izanagi and Izanami. Shiva is also named after a Japanese kami. She takes her name from Daikokuten, the kami of darkness or blackness. Daikokuten is thought to have been the mixture of the Indian god, Shiva, and the Japanese kami Ōkuninushi, though she takes more traits from Shiva than from Ōkuninushi. The other five characters will be introduced to you as the story progresses.

Last is the land itself: the Land of Dreams (夢の国, _Yume no Kuni_ ). It is an island country located on a continent nearby the one which hosts the Five Shinobi Nations and is just short of a two day journey, mostly by boat, from Konohagakure—which is why Shikamaru's group is located pretty close to the shore. At this point in the story, they've only just arrived. The country is ancient, dating back to Kaguya's time, and is covered in the ruins of a very old civilization.

Oh, before I forget, yes, the boy "Tora" (Shin) _is_ one of the Shin Uchiha clones from _Naruto: The Seventh Hokage and the Scarlet Spring_. He will play a key role in the upcoming story, so look for more of him!

Until next time!

Later.


	8. Finally! Boruto's Worthy Assignment!

_"Hope you got your things together  
Hope you are quite prepared to die  
Looks like we're in for nasty weather  
One eye is taken for an eye  
Well don't go 'round tonight  
Well it's bound to take your life  
There's a bad moon on the rise."_

— Creedence Clearwater Revival

* * *

Boruto's recovery took a total of three days.

Three painfully long, agonizing days. Throughout the ordeal, Boruto was reminded that, were it not of Ino's skills with medical ninjutsu, his recovery would be torturous—not to mention much, much longer. The situation was this: Boruto had lost a lot of blood during his short confrontation with the tiger, the attack had most definitely taken away his left eye (along with his sight), and the force of the blow was enough to fracture some of his facial bones. Through extremely advanced medical ninjutsu, Ino and her team of surgeons were able to mend the bone fractures; then, using a type of cellular regeneration technique, she healed the torn flesh around Boruto's non-existent left eye until only four large scars remained from the tiger's claws. The technique also had the advantage of replenishing some of Boruto's lost blood. Bed rest did the work of replenishing his stamina and chakra. Even still, his recovery was remarkably quick.

"I'm not sure what to make of it," Ino confessed when a shadow clone of Naruto arrived to retrieve Boruto on the third day. "Our medical ninjutsu is top-notch, but wounds like this require natural recovery too. He's healed remarkably fast. It almost— It almost reminds me... of you, Naruto."

Naruto's clone raised an eyebrow, "Of me?"

Ino nodded. "You healed from any injury you got twice as fast as anyone else."

"But, that was a result of—"

"Exactly. It started as just a hypothesis, but being that I can sense chakra, I decided to investigate." Ino paused, then said. "Somehow, Boruto's chakra acts like tailed beast chakra. His injuries naturally heal at a higher rate than a normal shinobi's."

The clone's eyes squinted, a typical expression Naruto adopted whenever he was confused. "Are you trying to say Boruto's some sort of half-jinchūriki... thing?"

"Not quite," Ino sighed. "I can't say for certain, but its likely that the chakra from the tailed beasts inside of you influenced Boruto when he was developing in the womb. He's not a jinchūriki, but his chakra resembles a tailed beast's chakra. That's what I think, anyways."

The clone seemed to think harder: "Hmmm... Come to think of it, Himawari does get a pretty scary chakra when she's angry."

Ino nodded. "That's not surprising. If one child manifests this kind of genetic mutation, it's highly probably the other will too. In a way, it's almost like we're witnessing the birth of a new kekkei genkai."

"Really?!" the clone blurted out excitedly.

Ino giggled, as though she was suddenly embarrassed. "Well, umm... I'm not sure. I've never seen anything like this before, but that's what _I_ would say."

Their conversation was cut short by the arrival of Boruto. Three days after the accident, he was now dressed back in his normal attire (instead of those ratty hospital gowns he despised so much)—the only difference was that a series of bandages were now wrapped around his left eye. Upon seeing him, Naruto's clone walked over and placed his artificial hand atop Boruto's head; he lovingly ruffled his oldest child's hair, but Boruto already seemed annoyed by his presence.

"A clone?" Boruto groaned.

"Yes," the clone replied. His expression suddenly seemed to go grave. "This time, I have a good reason for sending one. I'll fill you in on the details later. Just trust me, okay?"

Boruto grunted, but promised not to cause any trouble. Once more, Naruto thanked Ino for her hard work, then he and Boruto left the hospital for home. Walking down the streets of the village was strange, to say the least; Boruto wasn't quite used to navigating with only one eye, and his depth perception had certainly taken a hit. Naruto's clone was forced to keep him from running into people on the street. As they walked, Boruto reflected on his failure in the Forest of Death. He wondered if the Sixth Hokage would ever train him again after such a royal screw-up. Perhaps, he thought, if he told everyone about his Byakugan, Kakashi might be more keen to allowing him to resume his training. He certainly couldn't wait to tell his _mom_ when she got back from her mission. Himawari would pleasantly surprised too. But... Kakashi? He was a wild card. Who knows _what_ impressed him...

Returning home, Boruto was pleasantly surprised to find his teammates waiting for him just outside his front door.

"Welcome home, Boruto," Mitsuki said with an innocent smile.

Sarada's reaction was a bit more dramatic. In a move that reminded Naruto's clone of Sakura, Sarada marched over, balled her fist, reared back, and slammed her fist into Boruto's head. " _Idiot!_ " she barked. "When are you going to learn not to be so _reckless_ all the time?!"

Caught off guard, Boruto fell forward, only to find himself caught by the same person that had initially hit him. Sarada pulled Boruto up and wrapped her arms around him. Before he could say anything, he noticed that she was trembling. He could feel her tears falling on his shoulder as she wrapped him in a tight embrace. He fidgeted, unsure of what to do. Should he hug her back? Make a stupid joke to lighten the mood? Perhaps take it a bit more seriously assure her that everything was going to be alright? But before he could think of anything to say, Sarada spoke up instead.

"Don't you dare go getting hurt like that again, you big moron." she sobbed lightly into his shoulder. "If something happens to you, I won't forgive you. _Got it?_ "

Boruto still didn't know what to say, but he couldn't help the uncontrollable grin that spread over his face. "Yeah," he said at last. "Got it."

Konohamaru was there as well, hanging back and allowing the children to greet Boruto first. Then, when it was his turn to step forward and say something, a myriad of emotions flashed through him at once. Boruto's injury had come as quite a damper on his plans for the group. He found himself both grateful to Kakashi for taking Boruto under his wing, yet resentful at the same time that the harshness of Kakashi's first test cost Boruto so much. He also felt remorse. Remorse that, after such a terrible injury, he was about to have to break worse news to the young Uzumaki. Sighing, Konohamaru glanced up once at the clone of the Hokage.

"I'll take things from here," he said.

Naruto's clone nodded. "Alright. When you're done, bring them by the office and I'll explain everything." There was a burst of smoke, and the clone was gone.

"Boruto," Konohamaru began. "It's good to have you back with us. Unfortunately, there isn't much time to celebrate."

The grave tone in their teacher's voice caught the three members of Team Konohamaru by surprised. They immediately gave their attention to Konohamaru, who continued:

"A few days ago, a team of twelve jōnin and chūnin left the village on a very important assignment. As you know, missions are ranked according to difficulty and complexity. The missions you've been preforming as genin are either D-rank or C-rank—the easiest missions there are. Above those is B-rank, which are more complicated. Along with the A-rank, it assigned to only chūnin and jōnin." Konohamaru paused. "The mission _these_ shinobi went on was a grade even higher: S-rank. They're the hardest missions available to a shinobi. Only the most powerful shinobi are entrusted with such missions. But..."

Boruto felt a lump beginning to build in his throat. Unlike Sarada and Mitsuki, and unbeknownst to Konohamaru, he knew everything about the mission his mentor was speaking about. The mission to the Land of Dreams. The mission to find out what happened to Sasuke Uchiha. While in the hospital, he had learned that his mother had gone on that mission. He studied Konohamaru's face, the tone of his voice, his posture, and he knew that something had happened. After a moment of tense silence, Konohamaru resumed his speech.

"But we've lost contact with the shinobi who went on that mission."

It was like a wave of ice water had been dumped over Boruto's head. He imagined his mother—his calm, sweet, gentle mother—and then the image shattered. Suddenly, he knew what Sarada had been feeling all along; he felt the despair come alive in his stomach, as though it was suddenly full of maggots and worms. He felt his emotions begin to go numb, until only a spark remained. A spark of fury. Now he knew why his father couldn't face him in person.

"If something's happened to them," Boruto said, his voice quaking with contained rage. "We have to go after them."

Konohamaru, pale and concerned, nodded. "I'm glad you feel that way, Boruto. I am, because the Hokage has called upon _us_ for a mission now and it is above everything the three of you have done up until now."

"What kind of mission, sensei?" Sarada said after clearing her throat.

"I'll leave the details to the Hokage," Konohamaru replied. "He can explain things better than I can but... I don't want any of you to underestimate the amount of danger you're about to be placed in. This will be your first dip into the world of shinobi, where a life of danger is expected of you. The Academy... Your missions and training up until now... All of that has come together to prepare you for this crucial test. Only, unlike your Academy exams, failing means a lot worse than a scolding from your parents. Now then, let's meet up with Lord Seventh. There is more to be discussed."

* * *

The Hokage's office was deathly silent. Team Konohamaru, like soldiers preparing to be sent to the frontlines, stood before a leader who appeared very much reluctant to do so. Nobody entertained the thought that Naruto's hesitation was anything less than the result of the fact that his former pupil, his son, and the daughter of his two best friends were on the team being sent. Even Mitsuki, the offspring of Orochimaru, garnered some emotion from Naruto. _They're just children._ Naruto knew better than to think such things; shinobi were soldiers from a young age, expected to fight and kill for their homes. That much had not changed since the Fourth Great Shinobi War. But the act of sending _children_ made Naruto cringe deep within. He thought of Inari, back in the Land of Waves, and of Haku who had journeyed with Zabuza. Two young lives that were marred by the gruesome conflicts of the world beyond the village. He also reflected on all of the tough situations he was put into at a young age, and even then he was unwilling to make the call to send them.

However, as Hokage, he didn't have a choice. He _could not_ send another team of jōnin or chūnin. To do so would compromise the security of the village. Back in the day, Grandma Tsunade had faced a similar crisis in the aftermath of Orochimaru's Konoha Crush. Unable to spare any higher-level shinobi, she had sent Shikamaru and several other genin (Naruto included) to hunt down and retrieve Sasuke. Not to mention, it was simply standard military procedure in Konoha. Genin must be called upon to preform missions whenever the higher-ups are tied up or unable. So, with that in mind and a reluctant sigh, Naruto opened his eyes and faced his young audience.

"This mission," he said. "Is nothing but a rescue mission. The twelve shinobi that went missing are vital to this village. We _must_ get them back before the enemy does something horrific to them. Once they are safe with you, return to the village at once. The termination of the enemy is _not_ a priority. I don't know what foes await you in the Land of Dreams, but I have a really bad feeling about it, so avoid conflict at all costs. Understood?"

Four heads nodded.

"I don't need to tell you, because I'm sure you already know, however..." Naruto continued. "This is an S-rank mission. Far above the pay grade of a typical genin squad. Therefore, I am adding some members to your team to provide you some support." He glanced at the door, then raised his voice. "Come on in!"

The door opened and three young shinobi stepped into the room. Boruto immediately recognized them—they had come to the village the previous year, during the Chūnin Exams. The first one through the door was a pale young man with red tattoos across his face and dark hair that spiked upward; behind him was a blonde girl with big green eyes and a hood over her head; the last one through the door was a boy with brown hair, which was tied up into a ponytail resembling Shikamaru's, though his face remained obscured by Hannya mask. All three shinobi wore identical symbols on their foreheads—two on forehead protectors, and the third on the masked boy's mask.

"This is Shinki, Yodo, and Araya," Naruto announced from his desk.

Konohamaru's eyes widened a little. "They're Suna shinobi..."

"Correct," Naruto said. "The current situation has gotten out of hand. I had to inform the Shinobi Union. The Kazekage immediately volunteered these genin to join your team and act as your support."

"But why not send jōnin or chūnin? Wouldn't that be more practical?"

Naruto shook his head, "The other villages have their hands full. The Chūnin Exams are approaching in a few weeks, the mission loads from the smaller countries are still pouring in, and there just aren't enough higher level shinobi to deal with it all. Genin are our only recourse, and Iwa, Kiri, and Kumo are reluctant to spare theirs. In other words, Shikamaru's specifically, international relations are a drag. Either way, that is the state of things. We have to work with what we've got. Set out immediately. When Shikamaru last contacted, it took them a day from the village to the coast of the Land of Dreams. That's where your search begins."

"I promise," Boruto's voice suddenly caught Naruto by surprise. The youngster stuck out his fist, a gesture Naruto remembered using whenever he made a particularly important promise. "I promise we'll bring Mom back with us!"

Naruto opened his mouth to react, but was cut off by a deep, grumbling laughter from within his subconscious. He immediately recognized the voice as Kurama's—the Nine Tails hadn't spoken up in awhile, so Naruto was surprised to learn that he had been listening the entire time.

「 _Naruto... that little brat of yours certainly takes after you._ 」the fox said in its booming voice.「 _You'll certainly have your hands full when he comes of age._ 」

The Seventh Hokage smiled, and, to both Boruto and Kurama, replied: "I know."

* * *

Jōnin Konohamaru Sarutobi and six genin—Boruto, Sarada, Mitsuki, Shinki, Yodo, and Araya—exited the front gates of Konohagakure and dashed off into the forests heading towards the east coast of the Land of Fire. The sky was darkening as a storm swept down over the mountains and into the fertile, forested valley that Konohagakure was established within. The path to the east was a relatively easy one. There were no significant terrain changes nor were there any political boundaries between Konohagakure and the Land of Fire's east coast, which made the trip quicker than journeys to the west. Konohamaru predicted that they would arrive on the coast by mid-evening, and then be in the Land of Dreams by dawn. But first... there was another matter he wanted to deal with.

"Listen up, everyone," he said from his position at the front of the pack. "As the Hokage said, this mission is going to be more difficult than anything you've ever done. The risks of failure and death are already high for jōnin on an S-rank mission. For genin, they're astronomical. Anyway we can help one another would only improve those odds, so we're going to start doing that right now. If we're to work as a cohesive unit, everyone needs to know each other's special skills and abilities. So out with it! Introduce yourselves and your special skills. You first, Boruto!"

Boruto didn't particularly like the idea of sharing his abilities with strangers, least of all strangers he might compete against in Kirigakure, but he relented for the sake of the mission. "I'm Boruto Uzumaki. My specialities are Shadow Clones and the Rasengan. I can use Water, Wind, and Lightning type chakras."

"Three natures?" Yodo asked. "There's no way a mere genin—"

"He can," Mitsuki interrupted. "That's why he's considered an elite genin."

"Elite, eh?" Araya said. "So is our Yodo. Go ahead and read 'em your stats, Yodo."

Yodo sighed. "My speciality is the Scorch Release kekkei genkai. I can use both Fire and Wind type chakras."

 _Kekkei genkai?_ Konohamaru thought as he listened to the exchange. _Come to think of it, during the last war, there was that Pakura girl from Sunagakure that could use Scorch Release..._

"And I'm Araya," the masked kid went on. "My speciality is kenjutsu and I can use Wind type chakra." Then he turned to their leader and said, "Shinki, you're up."

"My name is Shinki," the tattooed boy said. "My specialities are Puppet Ninjutsu and the Magnet Release kekkei genkai. I can preform with both Wind and Earth chakras."

 _Excellent, they're a well rounded bunch,_ Konohamaru thought. "Sarada! Mitsuki! You too!"

"Right," Mitsuki said. "I am Mitsuki. My speciality is Ninjutsu." He scratched his head, as though embarrassed. "I don't know any of that fancy elemental stuff yet, but I suppose I'm a pretty good sensor."

"And I'm Sarada Uchiha," Sarada said. "My specialties are my Sharingan and Fire Release ninjutsu. Furthermore, I have basic knowledge of medical ninjutsu."

Boruto immediately realized he had forgotten something vital. His newest ability, which had only manifested three days earlier. Konohamaru had already opened his mouth to address the group again, but Boruto was quick to cut him off.

"There's one more thing, sensei..." he said. "In the chaos of everything, I haven't yet gotten a chance to update you on this development."

"What is it, Boruto?"

Boruto focused chakra into his remaining eye, causing the veins to bulge, his usual blue eyes to turn pale, and his vision to change dramatically. "My... Byakugan."

Sarada's eyes widened, "Boruto, your eye—!"

Though his face was hidden by his mask, even Araya seemed shocked, "A kekkei genkai too?!"

Shinki's eyes merely narrowed, _I get the feeling that... we're only just scratching the surface. This is the Hokage's kid, after all._

"That's quite the development," Konohamaru noted. "But it couldn't have come at a better time. Our formation will go as follows. The moment we cross into the Land of Dreams, we will take this formation: Sarada will be up front. Her Sharingan can scan the area directly in front of us for odd chakra and caution us to both traps and genjutsu. She will also act as our healer. Per the rules governing medical-nin, she is not permitted to enter combat directly unless there is an indisputable need for her assistance; should we be ambushed, she is to be protected at all costs. Second will be Mitsuki. His ability to sense chakra will naturally aid Sarada in her objectives. Yodo will be third, using her Scorch Release to protect the two directly in front of her. At the center of the formation will be me, allowing me to easily issue commands and assist either side in their endeavors. Behind me will be Araya and then Shinki. You two will be our primary attackers in the event of a surprise attack. Finally, Boruto will flank us, using his Byakugan to watch our blindspots. His ability to create clones will allow us to reinforce our rear guard quickly." He paused briefly to allow the information to sink in, then said, "Does everyone understand?"

Six shinobi responded loudly with, " _Hai!_ "

"Excellent," Konohamaru shouted with a confident smile. He was still nervous, but their willingness to work together was strengthening his resolve. "Let's pick up our speed."

Then seven shinobi—a jōnin and six genin—became like dancing tree leaves and vanished into the woods.

* * *

As Konohamaru had predicted, the group arrived on the eastern coast of the Land of Fire by evening. Hues of autumn gold painted the sky as the sun set along the horizon, and a soft breeze blew in from the ocean over the tiny port town of Hamushi. They reached their assigned boat, dubbed the _Kinome,_ and were at open sea by nightfall. Before turning in for the night, Konohamaru briefed his team on the route they would be taking. The Land of Dreams was an island continent south of the Land of Water. Their boat would travel through then night, passed the island that once held the ninja village of Uzushiogakure through the Straight of Twin Tigers, and would make landfall by twilight the following morning; from there, the team would trace the steps of Shikamaru's group.

"Does everyone understand the plan?" Konohamaru asked when he was done.

Six heads nodded in unison.

"Good, get some rest, all of you." he continued. "We have an early morning and a long day ahead of us."

The group dispersed. All except for Boruto, who wandered towards the bow of the _Kinome_. The night was black and, without any artificial lights, he couldn't quite tell where the sky stopped and the ocean began. The only light illuminating his vision was the moon which hung over the ocean. Boruto stood along the front railing, staring out into the blackness while contemplating the day ahead. Though it all, one thought was louder than the others. His fists balled tightly at his sides.

 _Just hang tight, Mom... I'm coming..._

* * *

 **A/N:** Apologies for the late release. I wrote a horror flick one-shot over the weekend (if you are curious about it, the title is " _Until Dawn_ " and it can be found on FictionPress where I go by the same username) and then encountered... some emotional issues yesterday. All is good now though, so I hope you all enjoyed the chapter! Now for some supplementary info!

Three familiar faces make their debut in this series straight from _Boruto: Naruto the Movie!_ Those are the Suna ninja, Shinki, Yodo, and Araya. We also got the series debut for Kurama (though it was brief)! The Shinobi Union also debuted, mentioned by Naruto. In the post-series novels, this is the organization (akin to the United Nations) which is born out of the Allied Shinobi Forces from the previous war. Other than that, two names worth mentioning. Hamushi (葉虫), the name of port town the group passed through, means "leaf beetle." The name of the ship, _Kinome_ (木の芽) means "leaf bud." I hope I haven't forgotten anything... Oh well! Next time, we're off to the Land of Dreams!

Until next time!

Later.


	9. Tomb of the Underground God

An angry cloudburst covered Konohagakure, unleashing fingers of lightning which tore through the darkness of night. Powerful gusts of wind knocked over garbage cans and carried litter across the streets of the village, whose streets had become empty and derelict in the face of nature's wrath. The houses in the village were all dark; some were without power, while others had merely turned out their lights—the families within having decided to turn in early as a result of the storm. This left only a single light on in the village, a light which could be seen from all around despite the weather, due to its location atop the Academy: the Hokage's office. The soft light bled out through the darkness like a beacon, a beacon which could even be seen as far out as the gates of the village.

Along the road leading into the village, five strangers dressed in black approached the gates, seemingly unhindered by the squall. The five strangers moved in tandem, remaining huddled together as they traveled, with only the erratic flashes of lightning to guide their feet. Then, as one, they stopped several meters out from the gate. The group's leader peeled back his cloak, revealing a man with true-red hair—the color of autumn tree leaves. The red-haired man seemed oblivious to the torrential rain, and the wind which made the rain lash at his face like a jailer's whip. He stared once at the highest point of Konoha's gate, then directed his sight in front of him, as if towards an unseen force.

"It is just as we were told," he said; his voice, deep and baritone, was audible above the chaos of the cloudburst. "A barrier surrounds this village. From the looks of it, it is a Sensing Barrier."

The rest of the strangers remained silent as their leader made his observations. Then, cautiously, the red-haired man stretched out his hand towards the invisible border of the barrier. Stretching out, then, with his senses, he began to visualize the full size of the barrier. Not only did the Sensing Barrier surround the village, it was carefully crafted into a perfect sphere, allowing it to detect abnormalities from both above and below the village. There appeared to be no holes or weaknesses to exploit in the barrier's exterior design, and yet the ghost of a smile touched the lips of the red-haired man. Slowly, he retracted his outstretched hand, curled his fingers into a one-handed hand sign, and shut his eyes.

Wordlessly, a jutsu activated.

The red-haired man's eyes snapped open and bathed the stormy darkness with an eerie violet glow. A myriad of images played behind the eyes of the red-haired man: he could see a man in a black cloak, adorned with many red clouds, and brazen orange hair standing near the gates with five others just like them. He watched as one of the six figures, a young female, leaped high into the air and crashed through the invisible barrier. Once inside, she cast a Summoning Technique to call the other five into the village with her. That, he assumed, was _one way_ of infiltrating the village, at least if they wanted to conceal their numbers. As it would happen, though, the red-haired man didn't want to just conceal their numbers, so he immersed himself into the images his eyes were showing him. With his mysterious jutsu, he peeled back the layers of history, gazing back upon all of the people who had once encountered the barrier. He saw the current Hokage, Naruto, as a young man, setting out with his comrades to locate the fleeing Sasuke Uchiha. Further still, he finally saw what he was looking for; the image was of Itachi Uchiha and Kisame Hoshigaki, clad in Akatsuki regalia, standing at the edges of the barrier shortly after Orochimaru's Konoha Crush.

 _Halt_ , the vision-Itachi said. _A barrier surrounds the village._

 _How do you suppose we proceed?_ the image of Kisame replied.

In the vision, Itachi preformed a series of hand seals which the red-haired man then mimicked. There was a subtle shift in the air and the red-haired man's eyes ceased to glow. He silently threw his rain-drenched hood over his head and signaled to his compatriots to follow him. The five men, dressed in black, vanished at once from the spot they had occupied.

In the distance, thunder roared.

* * *

Naruto Uzumaki sighed as he put his office phone back on the receiver. All was well; Himawari had made it safely to her grandparents' home in the Hyūga District before the storm had hit. Hiashi had said that she was currently asleep and likely didn't even know it was storming. Naruto had smiled at that; both she and Boruto had inherited their heavy-sleep cycles from him, and it had annoyed Hinata to no end. _Hinata_. He worried about her. Wished that he could personally go to her rescue. Sometimes, he thought, the burdens of the Hokage were just too much for one person to bear. He missed her. He missed Shikamaru, who would probably be telling him to go home and see his family right about now, rather than worry about the endless piles of paperwork he needed to get done, or the the unending deadlines he had to meet. And, even though he had only left the village hours before, he missed Boruto, who was now in the same danger that his mother was in.

He sighed from a mixture of fatigue and anxiety, and his eyes scanned the wall, particularly the portraits of the previous Hokage. The murals of Hashirama Senju, Tobirama Senju, Hiruzen Sarutobi, Minato Namikaze, Tsunade, and Kakashi Hatake stared back at him but offered him no answers. At times such as these, Naruto couldn't help but be amazed by his predecessors and their ability to weather any storm thrown at them. If he closed his eyes, he was transported back many years ago to the previous war, when he had met the first four Hokage as Reanimations on the battlefield. Even now, he could remember the awe he had felt at being in their presence and fighting at their side. The strength of the memory made him wonder if the younger generation viewed _him_ in the same light as he had the previous Hokage. Was he even that capable of a leader? Sometimes, he wondered.

He glanced down once more at his paperwork. They were the necessary release forms needed to submit qualifying genin for the upcoming Chūnin Exams in Kirigakure and they were at least fifteen pages thick. He groaned, picked up his pen, and meant to set back to work; then the lights in his office flickered. Outside, the cloudburst continued to rage, but his lights had never flickered _before_.

 _Kurama_ , he thought mentally.

「 _Hmmm...?_ 」the fox replied sleepily.

 _Lend me a bit of chakra,_ Naruto thought.

The effect was instantaneous. Warmth rushed into and pooled within Naruto's stomach. His blue eyes retained their color, but became a pair of feral slits as the fox's chakra took effect. He stretched his senses outwards, probing his office for any negative emotions and then turned his probe towards the rest of the building. His eyes narrowed. Killing intent was thick in the lower levels of the Academy, and it was rising quickly towards his location. As he sat calmly at his desk, he began the process of absorbing natural energy. As a result, his eyes took on the qualities of a toad's eyes, mixed with the fox-like slits caused by Kurama's chakra. Additionally, orange pigmentation appeared around his eyes. It was only then that he could separate the killing intent he had felt into five discernible chakras—they were now outside his office door, he could hear their footsteps. His artificial hand curled into a fist, but he released both Sage Mode and Kurama's chakra. He didn't need them just yet.

The door opened and Naruto looked up.

"I wasn't expecting guests," Naruto said casually. "Who're you guys?"

Five shinobi, dressed in black, spilled into his office. Their clothing was foreign to him. They wore cloaks, about the same length as his Hokage cloak, and dark hoods which made seeing their eyes difficult. The five strangers were of varying heights and weights, but Naruto knew they were all strong and resolved from the beginning to take them seriously. Inside of him, the gears were turning quickly. Chakra was building in him like the magma chamber of an explosive volcano; furthermore, the tailed beast chakras within him were awake and they were aware of what was happening.

"Seventh Hokage Naruto Uzumaki," the short one at the front of the group said, almost thoughtfully. "I must say, I'm a tad disappointed. The security in this village is noticeably lacking."

Naruto's lips quivered, threatening to curl into a grin. "That so?"

"Unfortunately," the hooded figure continued. "We did not come here to discuss security details. We came here..." There was a glint of light. "...to kill you!"

The five shinobi moved as a unit, throwing up their cloaks and unloading a rainstorm of shuriken upon the seated Hokage. Naruto's eyes narrowed, his chakra changing into the very essence of wind, resulting in a small shockwave that blew away the oncoming blades as well as the paperwork on his desk. The Hokage immediately looked both stunned and annoyed at the loss of his paperwork.

He shook his head, "Geez, you guys have any idea how long it took me to do that work? It's gonna be a pain in the ass to pick all this up!"

Now Naruto stood to his full height, his Hokage cloak fluttering slightly behind him. When he looked up and made eye contact with the first hooded figure, there was an explosion of air pressure in the room. Suddenly, the wooden floors began to creek, bend and crack under the pressure of an unseen force. The windows behind the Hokage desk began to rattle, as did the portraits of the previous Hokage along the wall. On Naruto's desk, his pens and computer began to shake and slowly move across the wooden surface. Across the room from him, the five intruders began to grow nervous.

"This is..." the larger one mumbled.

"...the Hokage's chakra!" said another.

The leader of the group, desperate to regain control of the situation, brought his hands together in a tiger hand seal, however Naruto was already ready. His artificial hand, wrapped in bandages, balled into a fist and began to emit steam.

 _Kokuō_ , he thought, appealing to the conscious of the Five Tails within him.

「 _Coming right up!_ 」the tailed beast replied.

Naruto's movement was instantaneous. Even Sasuke, with his Sharingan and Rinnegan, would've had trouble predicting his movement. Landing in the midst of the intruders, Naruto throttled his fist down towards the leader, who only narrowly avoided his punch. The punch connected with the ground. Outside the office, the top portion of the Academy suddenly exploded, exposing its contents to the abysmal weather outside. From the rising smoke of the explosion, the five figures dashed out and landed on the wet ground in front of the Academy. Their leader, who had barely managed to escape Naruto's attack with his life, panted with fatigue. However, Naruto wasn't ready to let them take a break. Emerging from the smoke himself, Naruto landed gracefully in front of the intruders, his Hokage cape flapping behind him violently in the wind of the overhead squall.

"We're not fighting here," Naruto shouted over the thunder and rain. "I won't risk hurting the village."

The group's leader opened his mouth to speak, but Naruto was already on the move. His cloak and body seemed to flicker with chakra before five giant chakra arms emerged from him, snatching each a member of the group. Then, with all the tremendous strength he could muster, Naruto hurled the the intruding shinobi through the air. He threw them so hard that wind resistance was hardly a factor. All five cleared the gates of Konoha and landed with mini-explosions into the softened earth beyond the village's boundaries. Outside the gates of the village, effectively back to square one, the red-haired man stood up, his hood tossed back from the tremendous impact he had just made with the ground. His body was sore from the impact and he could already feel it beginning to bruise. Blood trickled from his nose, a nasty side-effect of being thrown through the air with such tremendous strength and force.

 _I had heard that the Seventh Hokage was an idiot,_ the red-haired man thought as he watched his compatriots recover from the attack. _I wondered how such a man could become Hokage... but now..._

Just then, Naruto touched down several meters in front of them and the red-haired man's eyes narrowed in preparation for combat.

"Toniku," the burly voice of the tall stranger said from behind the red-haired man. "Stop playing around. Let's kill 'im before we wake the whole village."

The red-haired man, named Toniku, gave a small nod and then returned his attention to Naruto. The Seventh Hokage approached the group, cracking his knuckles as he neared; he appeared as unfazed by the weather as they were. When he was standing just across from them, he stopped and let his hands fall to his sides. It wasn't a fighting stance and Toniku was once again struck by how casual the Hokage was being about all of this. He had heard rumors about the Seventh Hokage, about the powers he wielded, but he had never believed them. The Seventh Hokage, Naruto Uzumaki, was an idiot who was made Hokage because he was lucky enough to have been a hero during the last war. That was all... or so he had once thought.

"I don't have a lot of time," Naruto said over the storm. "You can start by telling me who you are. Then we'll finish this."

"We are from the Usagi clan," the tall stranger from before said defiantly. "That is all you need to know."

The tall man clapped his hands together, producing a massive shockwave of chakra that forced Naruto to put up his artificial arm to cover his face from the hurricane-like winds it produced.

" _Tottori!_ " Toniku shouted. "Don't be so reckless!"

But it was much too late. The large man, Tottori, had already molded the chakra required for his technique and was aiming straight for Naruto. His eyes, like Toniku's had been earlier in the night, burned with harsh, violet light and his hair, which Naruto recognized to be just as red as Toniku's, hardened and launched like a barrage of senbon.

「 **Crimson Rabbit Hair Rain!** 」

Naruto was quick on his feet, thrusting out his palm towards the oncoming barrage of needle-like hairs. Chakra erupted from within him, shrouding him in a miniature version of Kurama's head, which caught the needles before they were able to reach the Hokage himself. However, he suddenly found it difficult to maintain the structure of his partial transformation and the chakra head dispersed, leaving him in stuck in his standard Nine-Tails Chakra Mode. He had little time to figure out what had gone wrong, however, as Tottori was above him, aiming his massive fist down at the Hokage. Naruto's fighting instincts were sharp, however, and he reacted completely on those instincts, leaping away from the oncoming punch, which ruptured the ground where he had been standing with ease. Airborne, Naruto focused his chakra and soon found stabilization despite the roaring storm winds around him, floating over the forest-turned-battlefield. Once more, however, he found himself unable to analyze his predicament, as Toniku and three other of his compatriots were there to meet him in the air.

"Your tricks won't work on us, Hokage!" Toniku barked triumphantly.

"I wonder about that!" Naruto responded defiantly.

Toniku's face lost its triumphant smirk when the realization dawned on him that he and his three compatriots had been captured by Naruto's Nine-Tails chakra arms. It was replaced by a look of shock when he noticed a particularly large Rasengan forming over Naruto's back. The Hokage gave him no chance to think of a counterattack. The glowing chakra arms violently pulled the three Usagi clan intruders towards the giant Rasengan in the center and then violently slammed them into the massive sphere. Their screams could be heard over the storm as the rotating sphere of chakra tore away their cloaks and bore into their flesh.

「 **Rasenkyūgan!** 」Naruto declared.

The three intruders were then forcibly ejected away from the sphere, crashing loudly to the ground beneath them. Finally, Naruto found a moment to gather his thoughts and analyze his enemies.

 _That hair jutsu from before,_ Naruto thought. _It destabilizes chakra structures. Kurama Mode is useless against techniques like that... And those glowing eyes must be some kind of dōjutsu..._

Naruto's thoughts were cut off by Toniku, who's amused chuckling rose up through the storm-filled air. The intruder was battered by Naruto's maneuvers, his clothing ripped and his exposed skin clearly bruised, yet he still stood on both feet and faced the Hokage who floated above he and his compatriots.

"I see..." Toniku huffed, trying to regain his breath. "Six Paths flight, tailed beast chakra, and the Rasengan... The rumors about your power weren't exaggerated after all. Hiruko-sama... was right. Uzumaki Naruto... You really are the current Sage of Six Paths!"

Naruto raised an eyebrow, "Hiruko? The way you talk about him, he must be the one behind all of this!"

Toniku shrilled with laughter again, "There's been a changing of the guard, Hokage! The world of the Sage of Six Paths... the world of _shinobi_ is outdated! This world can only reach the next stage of its evolution once shinobi are removed from the equation! Your death will be the start of that... the end of the era of shinobi!"

"Everything you were just blabbering about, it sort of went over my head," Naruto shouted into the rain. "It sounds like you want to bring an end to shinobi, and you wouldn't be the first to want such a thing. However... As long as I'm here, this era of shinobi will never end!"

"Enough talk," this time, it was a woman who spoke. Her red hair was pressed tightly to her face due to being drenched by rain water, yet she stared fearlessly up at the Hokage floating above them. "Our orders are to kill this guy. Let's do it and head back!"

"Well said, Megami." Toniku smirked. "Tottori? How 'bout you fulfill the little lady's request here?"

Naruto realized his mistake a moment too late. He had kept his attention on the four shinobi in front of him and had neglected to watch out for the large shinobi he had left behind him. Even though he was floating in the air, Tottori was able to make a sizable leap, aiming a devastatingly powerful punch in Naruto's direction. The impact, however, never came. There was a flash of shadows as a figure cleared the walls of Konoha behind them, followed by a sickening crunch as Tottori was blindsighted by an attack more devastating than his own. The large Usagi clan intruder flew downward, slamming into the ground with such tremendous force that a sizable crater was left as a result of the impact. The cause of this beatdown landed just outside the crater, her pink hair blowing violently behind her as the storm continued to rage around them.

"Thanks for that one, Sakura-chan," Naruto waved casually. "He almost got me!"

"Be more careful next time, dumbass!" Sakura Uchiha retorted loudly.

"How did you know to come looking for me?"

"Are you kidding? What, do you think I just sit at home and twiddle my thumbs all day while you and Sasuke do all the heavy lifting? I could sense your chakra from home! I figured with Shikamaru gone, _someone_ had to make sure you didn't screw things up!"

 _Brutal as always, Sakura-chan_ , Naruto thought, rubbing the back of his head in embarrassment.

Meanwhile, Toniku looked upon the motionless body of Tottori and felt his eyes narrow. _He's dead_ , he thought. _With a single punch..._

But the rest of his comrades weren't so torn up about Tottori's demise. Megami stepped forward, defiant as ever, to face the rival pink-haired woman. "That woman," she said. "Just said 'Sasuke'. I wonder if she means Sasuke Uchiha..."

At the mention of her husband's name, Sakura's expression changed from one of comic rage directed at Naruto to one of _actual_ rage directed at Megami. Her green eyes seemed to glint with the overhead flashes of lightning. Chakra began to build in her fists. "What the hell do you know about Sasuke?"

「 _Oi, Naruto..._ 」the voice of Gyūki boomed in Naruto's head. He had been so focused on the events below that he hardly noticed it.

 _Eight-o,_ Naruto replied. _This better be good..._

「... _It's just that... There's someone else headed this way! And fast!_ 」

"What?!" Naruto voiced his shock aloud.

Once more, he focused his chakra, using Kurama's chakra to speed up the process of gathering natural energy. Within moments, he was transformed into a Sage Nine-Tails Chakra Mode and able to sense chakra freely again. Sure enough, Gyūki had been right. Involuntarily, and with a slight quiver of his lip, Naruto broke out into a wide grin. There was indeed a chakra rushing his direction and its power was building rapidly. The intake of natural energy suddenly alerted him to a shift in his surroundings. The storm was intensifying, unnaturally so, and lightning was become more prominent in the air. Realization dawned on Naruto like a bucket of ice water and he quickly turned his attention back to Sakura. Without waiting for the inevitable, Naruto took off at full speed, soaring through the air towards his oblivious friend. He caught her and dove just in time. Lightning converged where the five enemy shinobi were gathered and a blinding light covered the area.

A deafening explosion ripped through the night, obliterating an entire section of forest outside of Konohagakure's main gates. Debris ranging from kicked up earth to uprooted trees flew over head. By reproducing Kurama's head once more, Naruto was able to shield Sakura from the blast and the debris. Several moments passed before it was safe to let down his defenses. With senjutsu chakra flowing through his veins, Naruto already knew that his would-be-assassins were dead. Their chakra had completely vanished, but there was still one more left in the area. One? No, there was— The gentle sound of feet touching the ground in front of him drew his attention to the source of the sound and away from whatever had distracted him. Then, slowly, Sakura opened her eyes and also noticed the newcomer.

Her face changed instantly, "You're—"

A considerable distance away, one might call it a _safe_ distance away, a shadowy figure watched the end of the fight with apparent apathy. Unlike the men who had just perished, his hair was white, and tied in a bun. His blank, violet eyes were accented by veins, which bulged around him. When he had seen all that he needed, the man with the Byakugan became one with the shadows.

He faded away...

* * *

 _Elsewhere, and hours later..._

Twilight was breaking. In a few short hours, daylight would take hold of the world once more.

Boruto found himself awake earlier than the rest of his teammates and was situated at the bow of the _K_ _inome_ , watching the Land of Dreams grow from just a shadow on the horizon to full-fledged landmass right before his eyes. By the time the sun fully peaked over the horizon and the rest of Team Konohamaru, as well as their Suna allies, were awakening from their restful slumber, the _Kinome_ was making preparations to dock along the same beach that Shikamaru and the others had landed on several days prior. As the boat made a careful approach to shore, Konohamaru rounded up his three genin and decided to go over their plan one more time.

"Remember," he said. "The temple Shikamaru and the others were headed towards is located towards the center of the island. The last communication received from the Konoha teams was when they reached this beach, so they could literally be anywhere. We'll start our search here and then make our way towards the temple, looking for any trace of the missing teams along the way. Understood?"

Six heads nodded at the jōnin.

"Good," Konohamaru nodded. "And remember our formation. We must reduce the risk of ambush at all costs. There can be no mistakes."

Once again, everyone assembled nodded their agreement. Moments later, the team of seven shinobi put their sandals firmly on the beaches of the Land of Dreams for the first time. At Konohamaru's prompting, they assumed their assigned formation: Sarada headed up their linear formation, followed by Mitsuki, Yodo, Konohamaru himself, Araya, Shinki, and the formation was supported from behind by Boruto. The seven-shinobi team wasted no time getting right down to business and within half an hour they were deep within the jungles surrounding the beach. The foliage was dense, which slowed their travel considerably, but the most unnerving thing about the Land of Dreams was the silence. It was a silence that could almost be felt, and soon they knew why.

"Sarada, Boruto, you two see anything?" Konohamaru called out from mid-formation.

"No unusual chakras," Sarada reported.

"Nothing _living_ ," Boruto said. "I'm seeing a lot of ruins, though. What exactly _happened_ here?"

"Long ago," Konohamaru explained. "There was a civilization here as old as the Land of Ancestors. This civilization used chakra, but wasn't considered a shinobi nation by any means. It was pretty secretive too and refused to establish regular contact with the Five Kage. I'm afraid there is simply no way of knowing what happened to the people of this land. They seem to have simply vanished... without a trace."

"Sounds creepy," Yodo noted.

"Don't get freaked out now," Shinki teased her. "We're just getting started!"

Boruto tuned out the conversations happening in front of him. Something about what his sensei had said didn't add up. There was at least _some_ contact with the Land of Dreams if they were able to refuse connections with the Five Kage; and, yet, all of these buildings were ancient. They were completely overgrown by forest foliage, and some where in such disrepair that they were crumbling and becoming rubble. Even decades would not result in the complete disappearance of an entire civilization— _something_ had to remain. He was momentarily distracted from his thoughts when he noticed something with his Byakugan. It wasn't living, not a human or enemy, but a massive pyramidal structure rising up out of the jungle several klicks ahead. He couldn't place his finger on it, but something about the pyramid made him uneasy; his stomach was twisting into knots at the very sight of it. He quickly drew attention to it.

"Sensei, I see something up ahead!" Boruto called out, and then filled his teammates in on what he was seeing.

Deciding to investigate, Konohamaru ordered the group change course. They arrived at the foot of the pyramid less than an hour later. The structure was much like the other ruins Boruto had seen on the way in. The structure was constructed predominately out of stone and jungle foliage had almost completely concealed it from the outside world, save the capstone, which peaked out over the trees. Boruto wasn't unnerved by its shape, however, nor the condition it was in; he was concerned because he was unable to use his Byakugan's powers to clearly see through the structure—the eye's X-ray vision didn't seem to work on it. He immediately informed Konohamaru about this strange phenomenon.

"Hmmm, is that so?" the elder jōnin said upon hearing his report. "That's quite strange, indeed. However... the structure itself is not strange. When you first described it to me, I thought this might be a smaller temple out here in the jungle, but I've seen structures like this before in the Land of Fire."

"What is it?" Araya asked curiously.

Konohamaru glanced back up at the pyramid, "It's a tomb."

Sarada hugged herself, trying to will away the gooseflesh that appeared on her skin. "That sounds creepy."

"Isn't it unbecoming of kunoichi to show fear over a crumbling old pile of crap like this?" Mitsuki teased her.

"You shut your mouth, Mitsuki! Nobody asked you!" Sarada loudly retorted.

Shinki stepped forward, ignoring their outbursts. "We should investigate. A tomb this big is a potential hiding place for potential enemies and a potential prison for our allies."

"I concur," Konohamaru nodded. "Resume the formation. We're going in."

* * *

Deep underground, in a chamber in which neither sunlight nor moonlight reached, Hiruko Ōtsutsuki sat upon his throne of bones. One of his men had just appeared, having returned from a reconnaissance mission to the Land of Fire, and was delivering his report. The servant lay prostate before the throne of bones as he delivered his report.

"Are you sure they're all dead?" Hiruko asked, his voice booming throughout the chamber.

"Yes, Hiruko-sama," the servant replied. "They were completely obliterated. The Hokage and his allies are strong, just as you predicted."

"The Child of Miracles," Hiruko mused. "Yes, I suspected his power would be superior to those fools from the Usagi Clan. That's what I get for sending lesser bloodlines to preform our work. I shall not make the same mistake again." The leader paused, sighed, and then gazed upon his servant once more. "You've done well, Kubera. Return to your quarters and get some rest."

"As you instruct," Kubera replied.

As Kubera withdrew from the underground throne room, two more Ōtsutsuki clan members, a male and a female, entered the chamber, strutted up to the throne and knelt before their master—waiting for him to address them.

"What is it, Shō? Kishima?" Hiruko said at last, though his voice made it clear that he was annoyed by their presence.

"We have guests," the woman, Kishima, proclaimed. "Reinforcements from Konoha, searching for their friends."

"I am aware. I have already dispatched Shiva to 'welcome' them. You two can be her support. Go."

"Yes, lord." they both replied at once.

When they had gone, the aging Ōtsutsuki pushed himself up off of his throne and walked around behind it. There, carved into the ancient stonework, was a passageway leading down further into the maw of the Earth. He took his time descending the steps; there were many of them and he had grown quite old, but the long-awaited time had finally come. Events were lining up exactly as he knew they would. The time for preparation was nearing its end, and the time for action was finally upon him. When he finally reached the bottom of the steps, he turned and entered an even more massive chamber than the one that contained his throne room. This deeper chamber, he thought, was perhaps the largest mass grave in the entire world. Ancient tree branches and roots seemed to have grown from out of the walls, the ceiling, and the floor, but it was not the trees that interested him: it was what was on the trees. There, hanging from the branches by the thousands, were what appeared to be the mummified remains of the entire population of the Land of Dreams. Even now, centuries after their demise, and contained within the entrapments of the ancient tree, their power fed the tree—and now, as had been the intention since their imprisonment...

...their power would feed _him_.

Hiruko murmured something in a language long forgotten; his lips curled into a sinister smirk and then, gazing upon those who were forever trapped as part of the tree, he said to no one in particular, "The era of shinobi is coming to a close... The reign of the underground god... begins now."

* * *

 **A/N:** So ends one of the longest chapter of the series to date. Lots of terms to cover, so here we go!

First, we are introduced to the "Usagi Clan" (兎一族, _Usagi ichizoku_ ), a clan of shinobi who seem to work for the Ōtsutsuki—but their motives remain a confusing mystery! Like the Uzumaki Clan, they seem to possess blood-red hair. They also seem to have two distinct abilities: glowing purple eyes that grant them a form of clairvoyance and the ability to use their hair to destabilize chakra constructs! Something tells me that, although the five members we saw in this chapter have definitely died, we haven't seen the last of this clan! For those who didn't recognize it, the "Rasenkyūgan" (螺旋吸丸, _Spiraling Absorption Sphere_ ) is one of Naruto's techniques from back during the Fourth Shinobi World War. I revived it for the sake of this chapter! It is an advanced Rasengan he can used while in his Nine-Tails Chakra Mode.

We were also introduced to three more of the Ōtsutsuki villains, bringing our total to five out of seven: Kubera Ōtsutsuki (大筒木クベーラ, _Ōtsutsuki_ _Kubēra_ ), Shō Ōtsutsuki, (大筒木将, _Ōtsutsuki Shō_ ), and Kishima Ōtsutsuki (大筒木杵島, _Ōtsutsuki Kishima_ ). Like their brethren, they are named after Japanese kami, specifically those from the Seven Lucky Gods. What abilities do they possess? What kind of threat are they? You'll just have to keep tuning in to find out!

Until next time folks.

Later!


	10. Queen of the Damned

Hiruko's face was frozen in what might have been the mutant cousin of a grin. He gazed out upon them, victims of the Infinite Tsukuyomi some centuries ago. Kaguya Ōtsutsuki had released the majority of the world from her global genjutsu when she had first cast it. He knew that for sure. The accounts were etched into stone, some on the very walls of the chamber he now found himself in. But that was, it would seem, only one story. Kaguya had cast the great genjutsu more than once on smaller scales. This very chamber was proof of it; she was preparing... for something. For them. Well, for _her_. He brought his hands together, as if in prayer, and inclined his head towards the victims who were forever entombed in the roots of a tree whose trunk and leafy branches no longer existed: the Divine Tree. He did so and then, after a moment of silence, truly did begin to pray.

His words rang out in the darkness; a language, unearthly in its pronunciation, and spoken with a thick accent. The prayers echoed off of the walls and, for a moment, was the only noise in the chamber. Suddenly, the sound of a furious tempest filled the room and the entombed Tsukuyomi victims began to radiate with chakra. This chakra swirled up into the branches of the ancient tree, and then into its roots. The very ground seemed to tremor, causing dust to fall like rain from the ceiling of the old stone chamber; and, then, chakra burst from the ground and began to fill Hiruko, yet still he prayed. This ancient chakra was soothing to his old bones, beginning as a warm sensation in his toes and quickly traveling to his head. The intake was too much, he realized; if he were to take in all the chakra these victims had to offer, even his Ōtsutsuki body would become stressed and explode, yet he drank it all in anyways like a vampire thirsty for blood. Finally, when he could absorb no more, and the chakra within him threatened to force its way out, he reached down and slammed his open palms into the stone flooring.

" _Awaken!_ " he cried out. " _The time has come!_ _Queen of the Night_ _, god almighty...! I beseech you, end your long slumber and awaken!_ "

Another tremor shook the chamber, this one short and concise—it was as if the Earth itself had developed a heartbeat. Far away, as if calling out from Hell itself, an echoing tremor—a second heart beat—answered the first. Then, as if a great vacuum had opened up in the darkness, Hiruko noticed with a start all of the chakra he had absorbed from Kaguya's victims begin to depart him through the earth. With his Ōtsutsuki Byakugan, he could see it moving, like blood through veins, through the earth and away from the chamber towards its intended destination. Soon, his own chakra began to depart and, acting on instinct, he began to suck more chakra out of the Infinite Tsukuyomi victims until finally, after over a thousand years, they were dry; but chakra was still leaving his body, he realized, and he began to sweat. Had he made a miscalculation? Had he preformed the ritual too soon? Finally, the chakra suction stopped, leaving him with just enough to heave for oxygen in the stale air of the underground chamber. He no longer had enough chakra, even, to maintain his Byakugan. He felt light-headed, his skin tingled, and fatigue set in hard and fast.

"Mother..." was all he could murmur before giving way to exhaustion and collapsing.

His only comfort was that he had finally succeeded.

After centuries of patience, the Great Queen—the underground god—was on the threshold of revival.

* * *

 _Elsewhere..._

The insides of the tomb were dark and the air was stale, causing Sarada to cough uncontrollably upon entering the tomb. The passages were narrow, but were surprisingly well-lit thanks to sunlight filtering in through the pyramid's damaged ceilings. As the sizable team of shinobi made their way deeper inside, however, the passages began to become darker and darker. Finally, the last rays of sunlight faded away, leaving the joint team of Konoha and Suna shinobi completely in the suffocating darkness of the tomb's inner catacombs. Konohamaru was quick to remedy the situation, however, forming a small string of hand seals from memory.

「 **Fire Release: Phosphorus Light Technique!** 」he declared.

The group temporarily found themselves blinded as a bright ball of fiery light burst into existence above their heads, showering the innards of the dark tomb with artificial light. After their eyes adjusted, the seven shinobi took in their surroundings in full color. The walls of the tomb, which had been barren towards the entrance, were now anything but; ancient artwork was carved, in remarkably good condition, into the crumbling stone walls of the tomb. There were depictions there of a woman with a fruit, and then, further down, the same woman quelling what seemed to be some manner of war with her great power. The hieroglyphs that likely described the depicted scenes were completely foreign to everyone present, making them impossible to decipher, however, Konohamaru had a theory regardless.

"I think these walls are depicting Kaguya," he said as they walked, his voice echoing down the passage.

"Kaguya?" Sarada, who was leading the party, asked curiously.

"Kaguya was an ancient woman of great power," he explained. "In a way, she was the ancestor of all shinobi... She was the one who brought chakra into this world."

Boruto had heard Kaguya's name many times before. Both his father and Sasuke talked about her quite often, as if a ghost from the past was something to be feared. In fact, Sasuke's missions were always directly tied to learning more about Kaguya. He was beginning to wonder if Sasuke had ever come to the Land of Dreams in his travels, or if he was here right now, unaware that he was considered missing to the rest of the shinobi world. Then again, Kakashi had said that Sasuke was in another space-time when he went missing so...

He shook his head of the negative thoughts that followed; they were distracting him from his mission anyways. Once again, he activated his Byakugan, and realized that he could do something he hadn't been able to do outside of the tomb: see through the old stone walls. He fixated his sight on a large anti-chamber that was several flights of impossibly steep stairs beneath them. There was an unusual chakra radiating from the room, so he came out of his trance and notified Konohamaru.

"An antechamber?" Konohamaru asked.

Boruto nodded. "A pretty big one, from the looks of it. The middle of the chamber is elevated and something there is emitting a strange chakra. I think that chakra is what is responsible for interfering with my Byakugan. It... It fogs the sight, somehow."

"We'll have to be careful then," Konohamaru mused. "Let's go."

The trek to the antechamber was more arduous than Boruto had thought. The stairs were pretty much a straight shot down into the large room, but it was impossible for them to maintain their footing without focusing chakra into their feet. As it would happen, he wasn't the only one thinking about the peculiar design of the steps. Ahead of him, Shinki had also noticed the design and stopped mid-stride, bringing the rest of the group to a halt.

"What is it?" Konohamaru seemed perplexed.

"These stairs," Shinki noted. "They may be older than we think. You said those depictions on the wall were of Kaguya, the progenitor of chakra, yes?"

"What of it?"

Shinki closed his eyes, as though trying to visualize what he intended to explain. "Very likely, these steps were built during a time when chakra was still new to humanity. They're very steep and go down a long way. Without chakra, it is impossible to balance yourself, so would-be tomb thieves would almost certainly fall to their deaths. Only someone who could control their chakra could come down here, so the _amount_ of steps was devised as a means to ward off thieves with control of their chakra."

Konohamaru's eye twinkled with realization, "I see... So, by forcing you to descend the steps by continually molding and expending chakra, the tomb wears you down until you have little chakra left. Only those with massive reserves would be able to withstand the distance. Which means—"

"Precisely, there is a trap at the bottom of these steps. Once a tomb robber is disarmed of their charka, and exhausted after such a long descent, they are left with no means to defend themselves and are killed quite easily. This method of traps is familiar to me; Sunagakure frequently uses such deceptive tactics."

Konohamaru nodded, "Good eye, Shinki. We'll have to think of another way down."

"Leave it to me," Shinki declared and then preformed a string of hand seals.

A small gourd, hanging on his utility belt, popped open, releasing a sizable cloud of Iron Sand. This Iron Sand automatically surrounded the young Sunagakure shinobi, forming a makeshift cloak that looked like dark clouds swirling around him. From there, Shinki clapped his hands together, molding another dosage of Magnet Release chakra for his next task:

「 **Iron Sand Desert Suspension!** 」

Some of the Iron Sand separated itself from his cloak and reformed into two floating platforms, each big enough to carry the team of seven provided they split into two groups. Konohamaru looked pleasantly surprised by this change in events.

"We can split into two groups," Shinki explained. "And then we'll take these to the bottom."

Konohamaru agreed and the team spent the next few minutes climbing aboard the Iron Sand platforms and situating themselves comfortably. Once they were ready, the platforms slowly descended into the bowls of the tomb towards the antechamber. Using his Byakugan, Boruto kept his eye out for other traps that might catch them off guard. Out of curiosity, he glanced toward the very bottom of the stairs—the place they would've emerged had Shinki not made his astute observation. Sure enough, the floor at the base of the steps seemed to be completely littered with ancient bones. Whatever trap had awaited them there was damn effective; he was suddenly relieved that Shinki had made his suggestion, and then turned his attention to other things.

As the platforms neared the bottom of the antechamber, a new cluster of glyphs and images began to appear along the wall. These images depicted a woman as well, but one who was distinctly different from Kaguya. A large mural of her was etched into the face of the tomb wall, and above her appeared to be the symbol of the Byakugan. Beneath the mural, however, there was a rise in the antechamber, and upon it set a sarcophagus—the source of the mysterious chakra Boruto had seen prior to their descent into the chamber. Upon the ancient coffin was the depiction of another of the Three Great Dōjutsu: the Rinnegan. Boruto recognized it from his master, Sarada's father, Sasuke's eye. Beneath the Rinnegan, scrawled across the lid of the sarcophagus, was faded lettering of a long forgotten language.

"This is officially starting to get creepy," Sarada remarked as they got closer.

Glancing around the room, Boruto suddenly felt very disheartened. "I'm not seeing any sign of Shikamaru's team..."

Sarada also looked around the room, her Sharingan allowing her peer through the ill-lit room for any signs of strange activity or chakra. Her eyes did not notice anything of the sort, instead falling upon the lid of the strange sarcophagus. She realized, with some great surprise, that she could actually _read_ the ancient scrawl. Her eyes saw the ancient lettering; they alone made no sense of it, but somehow her brain simply _knew_. The sensation was so bizarre that she suddenly became very still; then, as she allowed herself to comprehend what the old words said, her smooth skin broke out in gooseflesh. She began to shiver.

"What is it, Sarada?" Mitsuki asked.

All eyes fell upon her, but she did not notice.

"I... I can read it," she replied, her voice shaky with fear. "Th-the epitaph...!"

"You can—" Konohamaru paused. He craned his neck and gazed down at the lid of the sarcophagus, which Sarada couldn't seem to tear her sight away from. Squinting his eyes, he quickly examined the text, then looked by towards Sarada. _This text was written during the age of the Sage of Six Paths... It had to be, since earlier depictions described Kaguya, his mother... but... That's right, the Uchiha stone tablet... The Sharingan can read it! That must mean that this language and the one on the Uchiha tablet are one in the same!_

"What does it say?" Shinki asked.

Sarada closed her eyes for a moment and shivered. Then she opened her mouth and said:

 _Queen of the Night,  
_ _God of another plane,  
Night-Mother of They-Who-Stalk-The-Divine-Tree  
_ _In this spot,  
_ _She is housed in evil._

Boruto was the first to speak: "They-Who-Stalk-The-Divine-Tree? Who—"

Konohamaru had already stopped listening to Boruto. His mind was already searching back through several days of memories to the assembly Naruto had called in his office, atop the Academy. He recalled the words of that young girl, Hanako, who had read the contents of the Kaguya's scroll to those who had assembled there: _I couldn't quite make out this_ part, she had said _,_ _but Kaguya seems to reference monsters of some kind—ancient beings that her ancestors fought and locked away many eons ago. If I may make an assumption here: the way she describes them sounds an awful lot like the Ten-Tails. Either way, she writes that, in order to seek vengeance on the people who exiled them, Momoshiki and Kinshiki sought a way to release these monsters. However, the seal that the ancient Ōtsutsuki put on them was much too powerful, so they began to seek out a way to gain enough power to break the seal. The solution was the Divine Tree. See, Earth wasn't unique. Many worlds across the universe had Divine Trees..._

"It's talking about them... The Ōtsutsuki clan," Konohamaru said slowly. "This place must've been a stronghold for them at some point. This epitaph speaks of a queen... Could it refer to Kaguya?"

" 'In this spot, she is housed in evil.' " Sarada said again. "According to my papa, Kaguya is sealed away in another dimension... and, before that, she was entombed in the moon. This can't be hers."

"This place is not of Kaguya."

This voice was different—a woman's—and caused everyone to snap around to see where it had come from. A young woman, her long white hair tied into a bun and with featureless violet eyes, floated some distance away from where they, still perched upon Shinki's Iron Sand, floated. Upon seeing her, Boruto's eyes widened. Her hair color, eyes, the horns on her head, and the paleness of her skin left no question in his mind who she was. She looked just like Momoshiki and Kinshiki had a year ago.

"She's one of them," he said. "An Ōtsutsuki."

"How dare you..." the Ōtsutsuki woman said, her voice trembling with growing fury. "Filthy humans... How _dare_ you defile this sacred place, the tomb of our Night-Mother. To compare her to the traitor Kaguya... Unforgivable!"

"Now you've gone and done it," said a second voice—a new voice, a man's voice. "You'll have to excuse Shiva, humans. She really isn't fond of your kind... Certainly not of the traitor, Kaguya."

"Traitor?" Konohamaru spoke up. "Was she not one of your clan?"

"She was," a third voice said—this one was also female, but did not belong to the first woman. The one called "Shiva." This voice belonged to a much younger-looking female, who looked to be the twin of the male newcomer. "And one thousand years ago, she betrayed us, her family, and came here to Earth to steal the Divine Tree for herself. That greedy wench..."

"You see," the male said, chiming in again. "The one you call Kaguya was once the matron of our clan. But there was a split around a millennia ago, lead by our Night-Mother and her loyal bodyguards: the Order of Retainers. I believe you've met two of them—Lords Momoshiki and Kinshiki."

Boruto's eyes widened at the mention of his old nemeses, "How do you lot know about that?!"

The second woman, the man's twin, chuckled maliciously. "When Kaguya sided against her mother, our Night-Mother, and came to this planet, the Queen dispatched her bodyguards to hunt her down and bring her back. By then, our Night-Mother had already exterminated the dissenting clan members... the ones who sent her away.

Now it was Konohamaru who chimed in, "But I thought Momoshiki and Kinshiki were sent away! That's why they went hunting for the Divine Trees, to get revenge on the rest of your people."

Again, the twin woman cackled wildly. "You're well informed, human! When our Night-Mother was exiled from the clan, so too were the Order of the Retainers—including Lords Momoshiki and Kinshiki. They were furious that the clan had sided against our Mother! They advised our Mother to break the sacred laws and consume the fruits of the Divine Trees, so that she might gain the power to obliterate our people who turned their backs on her! The power to unleash the Great Old Ones from their damned prisons!"

"But why...?" Konohamaru continued. "Why was _she_ exiled? Why did Kaguya turn against her own mother?!"

Once again, the male spoke up: "Our homeworld, Tamedare, was at war... Our Mother, who was Queen of our people, was incensed by the invaders and committed a heresy. She prayed to the Great Old Ones, whom our people were much afeared since ancient times, for the power to vanquish our clan's enemies. Kaguya, Our Mother's daughter, longed for peace and sided with her aunt and uncle, who headed the Branch family of our great clan. They and their supporters betrayed and exiled the Night-Mother and her retainers. When Kaguya learned that Mother had dispatched Lord Momoshiki and Kinshiki to search for the Divine Trees, so that they might release the Great Old Ones, she came here to Earth to defend its holy tree. Heh, as if she had a chance... Of course, her coming here spared her the fate of her compatriots, but Mother would have found her anyways."

"But Kaguya is gone!" Konohamaru argued. "She was sealed away, first by the Sage of Six Paths, her son, and then by Naruto and Sasuke! Why come here to Earth?"

The twin female held up two fingers and smirked. "Two reasons: First, our mother _did_ locate Kaguya. However, when she arrived, she found that Kaguya had already been sealed away by Hagoromo and Hamura, her twin sons. The Queen somehow knew that she would be revived, so she seized the reigns of the Land of Dreams and planned to wait for Kaguya's revival, so that justice could be exacted. But... that accursed Hagoromo discovered her and a battle ensued. He... He robbed her of chakra and put her away in this tomb! The nerve of that blood-traitor!"

 _That explains the inscriptions,_ Konohamaru thought. _They were carved by the same person who made the Uchiha stone_ _tablet._

The woman's twin brother interrupted his thoughts, however, and finished his sister's: "We came here to free our Mother, after having lost her for so many centuries. The universe is a _big_ place to go looking for a lady."

"And the second?" Shinki said, suddenly interjecting himself into the discourse. The twin Ōtsutsuki shifted their focus to the young Suna shinobi, who continued: "You said there were two reasons. What was the second?"

"Chakra does not belong to humans," the female twin declared. "It belongs to us—to our clan and to our Night-Mother. We have come here, to this world created by Kaguya and her son Hagoromo, to revive our Mother, gather all of this world's chakra to her, and then _destroy_ it. The world of Kaguya Ōtsutsuki will be no more and our Mother will be restored to her rightful place as Lord-Matron of this universe."

"Humans..."

The conversation ceased, the chamber fell deathly silent. The voice had come from Shiva, who had not spoken in some time. She floated in the center of the chamber, separated by equal distance from both the shinobi and from her own clansmen. Her thin frame shook with rage and Boruto noticed that the veins around her eyes had swelled, signaling to him that she had activated her Byakugan. His entire body tensed, preparing for the inevitable conflict that was now to come.

"Humans... do not deserve chakra! Such filth cannot possibly use it!" Shiva hissed.

"Whelp," said the male twin. "I suppose the history lesson is over, folks. I'd say introductions were in order, but Shiva here doesn't look in the mood."

" _Enough...!_ " Shiva barked. "I will stop this foolishness now. These humans die here; their blood will be an offering to the Night-Mother."

There came an instant shift of moods upon the ancient tomb. The seven shinobi, still afloat upon Shinki's Iron Sand, each formed a hand seal in preparation to unleash the first move upon their three opponents. The twin Ōtsutsuki stayed back, the male perched upon the long stairwell while his sister hung towards the shadowy back of the chamber. Slowly, Shiva inched closer to the group, her rage growing by the second. She was poised to strike, about to make her move, when a loud voice boomed through the chamber, deep and masculine:

" _STOP!_ "

From the shadows, a fourth Ōtsutsuki emerged into the room. He looked considerably older than the other three; a long, twisted horn came from the his forehead and wrapped around the majority of his skull. His attire was regal, different from the others, yet still the same color of white and adorned with tomoe markings around the cuffs of his sleeves, as well as his collar. The old man looked weary, as if he had just ran a thousand miles, yet he stepped forward with such purpose. Upon his appearance, the twins rose and bowed; Shiva turned in mid-air and inclined her head.

"Lord Hiruko," they said in unison, almost as if chanting.

"There will be no combat in our Mother's chambers," Hiruko said with authority. "My fellows, the ritual has been preformed. The revival of our Mother is upon us."

"What of the shinobi?" asked the male twin.

"They will be dealt with presently," Hiruko replied. "The world of shinobi... The world of Kaguya and her vile son Hagoromo will draw its final breaths when our Mother draws her first."

 _These four,_ Konohamaru thought as he watched the scene unfold before him. _They must be part of the Night-Mother's guard... The 'Order of Retainers'..._

"What of the others?" the female twin asked. "Kubera, Mahasri, and Budai? Will they be joining us?"

 _There are seven of_ _them?!_ Konohamaru exclaimed mentally.

"No," said Hiruko plainly. "Yourself, Shō, Shiva, and myself will be plentiful enough."

Just then, an immense tremor shook the chamber, rattling loose centuries worth of dust and debris. The ground suddenly burst open in several places, and many immense torrents of chakra poured out them and into the sarcophagus on the raised portion of the chamber. Not knowing what to do, Boruto activated his own Byakugan and, to his horror, was able to see the corpse lying within the stone coffin. He watched the chakra pour inside, reviving the dead thing within, causing it to pulse with new life. As the dead thing absorbed the massive volumes of chakra pouring into its tomb, he noticed that the chakra changed dramatically as if the dead thing was making this foreign chakra _its own_. Realizing what was about to happen, Boruto snapped around to his comrades.

"Something is about to come out!" he yelled above the roar of chakra.

Sarada, transfixed and watching the same phenomenon with her Sharingan, quaked with terror.

"Shiva!" Hiruko called out. "We need the sacrifices! Bring them out!"

The floating woman nodded, then spread her arms out like two enormous wings:

「 **Yomotsu Shikome!** 」

Amidst the growing roar of the chakra filling the chamber, the shadows of the room began to gather and birthed thirteen figures; thirteen figures that, with a sudden spine-tingling chill, Boruto realized he knew: Shikamaru was among them and so was Kiba. He felt tears build in the corners of his eyes when he saw his mother, Hinata, among them. Then his eye fell upon the one at the front of the group and he could not control the mixture of sorrow and rage that built up within him at that point. Leading the group, with a blank stare just like the rest of them, was the long-missing Sasuke Uchiha.

"Papa...?" a shocked and wide-eyed Sarada almost whispered.

"Uncle Sasuke..." murmured Boruto. "Mom...!"

Oblivious to the sudden emotion from his enemies, Hiruko's face twisted into something malicious and evil—a smile that wasn't a smile. "Here she comes...!"

There was a sudden explosion as the lid to the sarcophagus was blown off and a shadow blurred upward towards the ceiling of the vast chamber. All eyes turned upwards, save Shiva's captives, who remained in their dazed, catatonic state. The figure that now floated, high above everyone else, was not dressed in traditional Ōtsutsuki garb. She wore a black kimono, a shihakushō—the garments of the dead. Her sleeves were ringed by golden tomoe, as was her collar; her hair was not the traditional Ōtsutsuki white, but a deep auburn. Her eyes were the Byakugan in its dormant state and on her forehead was the Rinnegan. Three horns poked through her skull, two on the sides having emerged from her hair, while the third was jutting out just above her third eye. A glare of evil indifference filled those eyes and stared down upon those in the chamber below her.

Then, Hiruko, who could no longer contain himself, said: "Welcome and bare witness to the end of shinobi... Our Queen of the Night, Night-Mother, and underground god... Awashima Ōtsutsuki!"

* * *

 **A/N:** There it is! Sasuke's return and the reveal of a new enemy! We have lots to cover, so let's get started!

Konohamaru's technique at the beginning of the chapter is the "Fire Release: Phosphorus Light Technique" (火遁・燐火の術, _Katon: Rinka no Jutsu_ ). It is a C-Rank Fire Release elemental technique which creates a small ball of light that floats above its user's head, allowing them to see in dark places! The Japanese word _rinka_ (燐火), which means "phosphorus light" is also the same term used for the legendary Will-o'-the-wisp, a type of ghost light frequently seen by travelers! The next technique is Shinki's "Iron Sand Desert Suspension" (砂鉄砂漠浮遊, _Satetsu Sabaku Fuyū_ ), which is basically the Iron Sand version of Gaara's Desert Suspension. Finally, we have Shiva's technique "Yomotsu Shikome" (黄泉醜女, _Demon Women of the Underworld_ ), which is the name of her shadow-manipulation ability. It is named after the slaves of Izanami who come out of Yomi, the world of darkness in the Shinto religion—you can see why it bears such a name in this chapter.

Additionally, we were introduced to some new chapters this chapter. Four of our Ōtsutsuki are present, the fifth named Ōtsutsuki was mentioned, and two more names—the remaining two Ōtsutsuki—were also named, and shall be later introduced to you. They are Mahasri Ōtsutsuki (大筒木吉祥天, _Ōtsutsuki Mahasri_ ) and Budai Ōtsutsuki (大筒木布袋, _Ōtsutsuki_ _Budai_ ). All seven members of the Order of Retainers were named after the Seven Lucky Gods of Japanese mythology, these included. Finally, Awashima Ōtsutsuki (大筒木粟島, _Ōtsutsuki Awashima_ ) is our mysterious and threatening newcomer! She takes her name from the brother of Hiruko in Shinto tradition. Both were the children of Izanami and Izanagi.

Finally, I should note that, much to my pleasure, I got to reference several of my favorite books/video games in this chapter. I won't reveal them here, I'll just let you guys pick them out, but I _did_ want to acknowledge they exist and were intentional.

So, who is Awashima? What will happen next? Stay tuned! You're in for a wild ride! This series is far from over!

Until next time!

Later.


	11. She Who Brings the Night

"Welcome and bare witness to the end of shinobi... Our Queen of the Night, Night-Mother, and underground god... Awashima Ōtsutsuki!"

Awashima's presence was suffocating. To the seven shinobi gathered below her, it was as if all of the oxygen had been sucked out of the dark, dank tomb. Using their dōjutsu, Boruto and Sarada gazed up at the Night-Mother of the Ōtsutsuki clan and watched as the chakra streams coming from out of the ground continued to be drawn into her. She was growing stronger by the second... but... Using his Byakugan, Boruto shifted his focus to the "sacrifices" gathered behind him—a group his mother and mentor were presently apart of. He took notice of the shadows that were binding them, very similar to the ones his rival Shikadai used frequently in combat; he also noticed the chakra that seemed to saturate these shadows, as if they were composed of chakra itself. An idea hit him then, one he didn't know if he would be able to pull off, but one he absolutely had to attempt. Lowering his voice to a whisper, he gathered his teammate's attention.

"Guys," he said. "I think I've got a plan..."

Oblivious to the scheming going on nearby, Hiruko gazed skeptically up towards his Night-Mother. His Byakugan was also activated and he was carefully watching the progress of Awashima's absorption of chakra.

 _She's still not at full power,_ he thought. _Kaguya's Tsukuyomi victims don't have enough chakra... but... between them and Shiva's sacrifices I should be able to bring her to at least half-power. From there..._

"Shiva!" he shouted suddenly. "Offer up our sacrifices to Mother!"

Nearby, the seven Konoha-Suna shinobi had just finished their talks.

"Everyone, remember your roles." Konohamaru warned quietly. "We only have one shot at this."

"It's starting..." Mitsuki noted. "Let's go."

"Right!" Boruto nodded.

Boruto rushed ahead of the group, crossing his fingers as he went. His actions didn't go unnoticed. Shō, Shiva, and Kishima saw him coming at once, but Boruto didn't stop his charge. With a thought, he cast his Shadow Clone Technique and a burst of smoke brought out four identical clones—his limit. Each clone then proceeded to activate their individual Byakugan.

"Well, well, well..." Shō said with a grin. "The runts are making a play."

Shiva's glare intensified. "Stay back. I will kill him myself."

The incensed Ōtsutsuki woman stretched out her palm towards Boruto and immediately produced a bone, the same technique she had used to kill that pesky ninja dog from earlier. Molding even more chakra than before, she increased the number of bones from one to four. Now, no matter which ones were clones, she was guaranteed to hit and kill them all! In her bloodlust, however, Shiva didn't think to consider the boy's allies. She launched her attack but his companions were already prepared for just such a maneuver. With a string of hand seals, Shinki sent an immense wave of Iron Sand, which intercepted the skeletal projectiles long before they could hit their mark.

「 **Shield of Iron Sand!** 」

 _Nice interception, Shinki!_ Konohamaru thought. "Yodo!"

"I'm way ahead of you!" the female Suna shinobi replied. Her hands were clasped tightly together in a tiger hand seal. Leaping high above the cluster of combatants. Three orbs, flickering with flames like miniature suns, burst into existence around her and she focused her chakra into them.

"Everyone! Here it comes!" Konohamaru shouted and not a moment too soon.

The seven shinobi snapped their eyes shut as Yodo barked out: 「 **Scorch Release: Taiyōshin!** 」

The three spheres of Scorch chakra surrounding Yodo expanded and then exploded in a burst of dazzling light. This light caught and then reflected off the surface of Shinki's now well-spread Iron Sand, demolishing the darkness of the tomb in a blinding sheet of white light. Though they couldn't see the effects, the seven shinobi could hear the Ōtsutsuki cry out as their eyes were seared by the overwhelming light. The light faded and seven eyes opened again.

 _A technique of that magnitude probably damaged their eyesight_ , Konohamaru thought as he watched the aftermath. _The Byakugan is extremely sensitive when it is activated. I can't imagine the pain they just felt._

"I.. I won't...!" the trembling voice came from Shiva. "I won't let you get away with this mockery! With your meager chakra!"

The Ōtsutsuki woman's hair suddenly stiffened and then it was as if a rail gun had gone off; her hair, transformed into sharp, tiny senbon, fell down upon them like a cloudburst. Fortunately, Shinki's Iron Sand was able to intercept the needles while Boruto pressed on towards his target. However, Shinki immediately noticed a problem with his absolute defense. As the hair struck his Iron Sand, the sand began to lose its connection with his chakra and fall apart.

"This jutsu... breaks apart structures imbued with chakra..." Shinki noted.

 _Tch,_ e _ven while blinded, she is able to strike with such formidable techniques..._ Konohamaru thought. "Mitsuki! We need to stop her movements!"

"Coming right up!" Mitsuki replied enthusiastically as he charged forward. The Ōtsutsuki woman's hair had begun to stiffen again, but Mitsuki was just a hair quicker. 「 **Hidden Shadow Snake Hands!** 」

A cluster of snakes burst out of Mitsuki's long sleeve and rushed towards Shiva. They coiled around the woman and bit her in various places. The effects of their bites were nearly instantaneous. Shiva's hair relaxed and her body appeared to go completely rigid, as if something was interfering with her ability to move her limbs.

 _The venom of these shadow snakes causes complete paralysis. She's helpless,_ Mitsuki thought. "Charge ahead, Boruto! Do it!"

However, no sooner did the words leave his mouth than Shō appeared and sliced the snakes in two, severing them from Mitsuki and freeing Shiva from her captivity. The snake venom, Mitsuki observed, still seemed to have its hold on her. She didn't appear to be able to move, but she was free and that made her dangerous.

"This is embarrassing, Shiva," Shō said. "Held back by a couple of brats? Just capture them with your Yomotsu Shikome already and we can feed their chakra to Mother too."

 _Damn..._ thought Konohamaru. _They're not blinded anymore... Furthermore, it looks like they're all getting involved. I need more time, though. I haven't built up enough just yet..._

Boruto pressed on, despite the change in tactics by the enemy. He was closing in on them now, the shadows that held his mother, mentor, and fellow Konoha shinobi. His Byakugan could clearly see the way Shiva's chakra composed the shadowy jutsu. He thought back to his mother and the early lessons she had taught he and Himawari. He had never been good at Gentle Fist, his mother's taijutsu style, but he knew enough of the basics to make this work. According to her, structures built with chakra were helpless against the Gentle Fist style. If he could just hit those shadows with his attack, he could...

"Sorry kid," said Shō who saw Boruto coming. "I'm gonna have to stop you right ther—"

"Oh, _no you don't_ _!_ " came a roar of defiance from above.

Boruto didn't even have to look up. With his Byakugan activated, he could see Sarada clearly. She had been the crucial part of this tag-team effort, sneaking up on the enemy in order to get a close shot should they try to stop Boruto's advance. With his Byakugan, he could also see the chakra building in her fists. He knew what she was capable of doing with this technique, which she had inherited from her mother. The enemy, Shō, looked up and reactivated his own Byakugan to assess the threat, but by then it was much too late.

" _ **Shannarō!**_ " Sarada cried.

Her fist connected with the ground, releasing a shockwave that violently shook the tomb. The blast blew back both Shō and Shiva; it also blew away a sizable portion of the stone flooring beneath Sarada's fist. The young girl's Sharingan blazed as she leaped back from the crater and turned towards Boruto.

"Now, Boruto!"

"Thanks, Sarada!" Boruto replied with a grin. "Leave it to me!"

"Kishima!" Shō, who was still recovering from Sarada's attack, called out to his final teammate. "Kill the brat!"

Kishima lunged. With her flight, she would have certainly overtaken Boruto within seconds, but there was a final shinobi among the seven man Konoha-Suna team and he had been waiting for just this moment. There was a glint in the darkness as Araya, the young masked Suna shinobi, drew his sword from its sheathe. A large volume of Wind chakra, in the form of many crescents of wind, began to swirl around the length of the katana. He drew back, condensing the chakra into his blade, then swung.

「 **Sand-Style Theater Suicide!** 」

A giant crescent of wind tore away the earth and collided head-on with Kishima. There is a tearing noise as robe and flesh and blood are torn by the impact. A pool of dark crimson liquid splashes onto the floor of the tomb. It isn't a clean cut, Araya realized with annoyance, but the gash on his enemy was clearly large enough to force her to think again before approaching. And the gash _is_ something worth noting. The bloody stain, showing the scope of his jutsu, traveled from her upper right shoulder all the way down to her left hip. The blast of wind threw her backwards, giving Boruto the clear shot he needed.

Boruto took the opening and ran with it. He and his four clones leaped into action, focusing chakra into their palms. The first strike hits the shadows around Shikamaru. To Boruto's delight, the shadows receded like water separating from oil. The second strike hit the shadows around Kiba with the same effect. The third strike broke the shadowy hold around Sasuke. The fourth, made by Boruto's real body rather than one of his Shadow Clones, struck the shadows beneath Hinata Uzumaki's feet and then his mother was too free. His final clone, carrying the fifth strike, made a beeline dash towards the remaining shinobi—the other jōnin and chūnin that had come along on Shikamaru's rescue mission. But Boruto realized, with some manner of horror, that they were suddenly being pulled back into the shadows. His Byakugan still activated, he noticed Shiva, who had recovered from Sarada's attack, with a hand outstretched towards them. _She_ was recalling them!

 _Think, Boruto, think!_ the clone thought furiously.

A thought did come and, though it was a stretch, the clone wasted no time in acting on it. A small Rasengan began to form in the palm of his hand. The tiny jutsu started out in its traditional blue coloration until the clone released the chakra it had saved in its palm for the Gentle Fist strike intended for the shadows. The sphere of violent chakra then turned an emerald green. The shinobi were still sinking into the shadows and Boruto knew he only had a few seconds to rescue them. With little time to think, Boruto reacted on his instincts and _threw_ the tiny green Rasengan. The sphere traveled a short distance, until it was well in between the crowd of trapped shinobi; then, as it always had before, it vanished. Seconds later, there was a detonation—an impressive shockwave that blew away the remaining shadows and freed the remaining shinobi.

"Alright!" Boruto cheered triumphantly.

Sarada landed directly beside him a moment later, "Good shot, Boruto!" she said cheerfully as Boruto's four clones dispersed.

"B-Boruto?" This soft, weak voice, Boruto would've recognized anywhere. With a look of prideful triumph, Boruto turn and flashed his waking mother a brilliant smile. Hinata Uzumaki's eyes were open and she was already beginning to stand up.

"Geez," came another familiar voice—that of old man Shikamaru's. "Shown up by a bunch of kids... How troublesome."

"Papa!" Sarada exclaimed excitedly, rushing towards Sasuke, who was also beginning to get up.

"S-Sarada?" Sasuke said weakly. "What are you doing here?"

"Their chakra is pretty low," Boruto noted as he glanced over the recovering survivors with his Byakugan. "Those shadows must've been sucking them up and giving them to that old hag over there." He gestured upwards towards Awashima.

Sasuke turned in the direction of the floating Ōtsutsuki and used what little chakra he still had to activate his Sharingan and Rinnegan. "Who... is that? Another one?"

"It's a long story, Papa." Sarada replied. "Focus on regathering your strength."

"I'm not much help," Sasuke cursed bitterly. "I used up all of my chakra creating a clone back when they captured me. That clone should be with... N-Naruto and Sakura n-now."

"We can get the full story when we get back," Shikamaru suddenly chimed in. "Right now, we have more pressing issues."

The trio of Ōtsutsuki had indeed recovered from the seven-man attack and had regrouped a short distance away. Kiba, who was glaring directly at them, singled out Shiva and clenched his fist so tightly that small dribbles of blood trickled onto the ground beneath him.

"That's the bitch that killed Akamaru..." he hissed.

"Kiba..." Hinata muttered mournfully.

"Keep it together, Kiba," Shikamaru barked out. "We'll definitely avenge Akamaru, but we can't act too rash. It wouldn't do anyone any good if _you_ got killed too. We need to come up with a game plan."

Above, Awashima Ōtsutsuki finally seemed to end her occupation as a spectator. Slowly, she began to descend from the heights of the tomb chamber. As she approached, her chakra built up and began to make the entire pyramid quake as if it were afraid. Beneath her, seemingly unfazed by the fighting going on behind him, Hiruko watched her descend until she was floating directly in front of him. She smelled of death and decay, but he could not seem to break his trance. Awashima's mask of indifference broke then; her eyes narrowed, her ruby-red lips quivered with silent rage, and she turned her gaze beyond Hiruko towards the three other members of her elite guard.

"Beaten..." she spoke softly her first words. "Beaten... by children...? Beaten by children... with stolen chakra, no less."

"Mother," Hiruko breathed warily, finally snapping from his trance.

"Be silent," her voice may have been soft, but it also carried with it an authority that demanded submission. And Hiruko _did_ submit. "Has these last thousand years saw you all, my Retainers, become so weak that _children_ can deter you?"

"No, Mother, please listen to me. We—"

Awashima's eyes, cold and fierce, snapped towards Hiruko. There was only cruelty and unforgiveness in those featureless violet eyes. Without hesitation, she raised her palm towards him and stretched out her hand.

「 **Shin: Yomotsu Shikome** 」she said calmly.

Shadows gathered and swarmed Hiruko, quickly overtaking his body until he was nothing but a shadowy silhouette.

"I thank you, my child, for bringing me back into this realm," she continued. "And now... you shall serve a different purpose."

The sound of Hiruko's scream made Boruto's hairs stand on end:

 _ **"GWAAAAAAAAAAAAAAUUUUUUUUUUUUGHHHHHHHHH!"**_

Horrified, Boruto watched with morbid fascination as the shadows broke and twisted Hiruko's body into a blood pulp—a pulp which was quickly converted into an immense chakra. She then pulled the shadows towards her until they united, adding Hiruko's massive chakra and life force into her own. Boruto's Byakugan showed him the entire process with gruesome detail. Just like with the chakra from before, Awashima didn't just absorb Hiruko's power; she made it her own. The chakra signature changed completely as she integrated it into her own power. Nearby, Sasuke was watching the same process with his Rinnegan.

 _It's like Momoshiki's ability_ , Sasuke thought, remembering when the young Ōtsutsuki tyrant had converted Kinshiki into a chakra fruit and eaten him for power. Sasuke's eyes fell upon the central eye on Awashima's forehead and he gritted his teeth. _She's got a Rinnegan... No, wait..._

Indeed, as Hiruko's chakra finished integrating into her own, strengthening her reserves, nine tomoe appeared on her forehead eye; its coloration also changed from violet to a blood red.

 _Just as I thought_ , Sasuke thought bitterly. _She's just like Kaguya with a Rinne Sharingan..._

 _I'm still not at full power,_ Awashima pondered as the last remnants of Hiruko vanished within her. _Far from it, in fact... Hiruko failed to gather up enough chakra in my revival... Useless._ Her eyes wandered across the various shinobi gathered before her, who were all watching her just the same. _I will take the chakra from these chakra-theives... Then I can take my time regaining the rest._

Boruto noticed the subtle shift in her chakra as she switched from spectator to aggressor. "Watch out..." he warned. "She's coming."

Once again, the room began to quake as Awashima focused her vast chakra in preparation to fight. Boruto, though not a sensor, could feel the chakra as physical weight on his skin. It was cold and murderous, and it made his arms break out in gooseflesh. As it increased in volume, a stale breeze began to blow within the underground tomb, causing Awashima's long, auburn hair to flutter and rise.

"Shō... Shiva... Kishima..." Awashima said softly. "Stay out of my way. I will... _utterly crush them myself!_ "

 _She's different!_ Sasuke noted. _Ever since she absorbed that other guy... Her demeanor and speech have changed!_ He tried to move, tried to get up and fight, but he was too tired. He still didn't have enough chakra to be a reasonable contender in the fast-approaching battle. _Damn..._

"Boruto!" Sarada called out. She knew they had to fight. The other victims weren't strong enough yet.

"Right!" Boruto, sensing her meaning, called out. He stepped up next to her, ready to protect her until his life was extinguished, and prepared to fight.

"Step back, kids." The voice that spoke was a familiar one; it hadn't spoken in awhile.

Boruto felt a hand in his hair, ruffle it gently, and then he watched as his sensei, Konohamaru, stepped ahead of he and Sarada. There was something different about Konohamaru, though. His eyes... there were dark rings around his eyes... and they were a greenish color, rather than their usual black. Boruto gulped. He had seen a form similar to this before; he could've sworn his father used a technique like this one!

"Sorry it took me so long," Konohamaru said solemnly. "I still haven't completely mastered this technique, so it takes me awhile to prepare. I don't know how much I can do... but you guys have done your part and now, as your teacher and jōnin commander, I'll do mine."

"Konohamaru..." Sarada breathed.

"...Sensei?" Mitsuki finished for her.

Just then, it hit him. Boruto recognized what he was seeing. What had happened! He could see it through his Byakugan! It wasn't chakra flowing into Konohamaru, but whatever it was was _strengthening_ his chakra. Boruto remembered his father talking about a technique that could do this. Konohamaru stepped further toward, towards the place where Awashima floated and Boruto knew then and there that he—

—was in Sage Mode.

* * *

 **A/N:** Short chapter, but it was necessary that it was short, as I'm sure you can all see. Still, in such a short chapter, a lot happened and a lot was introduced, so let's get into the deets!

Shinki's "Shield of Iron Sand" (砂鉄の盾, _Satetsu no Tate_ ) is, as you might guess, a shield technique that uses Iron Sand to block deadly attacks. His comrade, Yodo, also debuted a technique: "Scorch Release: Taiyōshin" (灼遁・太陽神, _Shakuton: Taiyōshin_ ; Literally meaning, "Scorch Release: God of the Sun") creates three spheres of Scorch chakra and then detonates them, creating a blinding distraction! It is a reference to the Taiyōken (Fist of the Sun, better known as _Solar Flare_ ) from Dragon Ball Z. Finally, the third Suna ninja, Araya, also debuted a technique: his "Sand-Style Theater Suicide" (砂流劇場自殺, _Suna-Ryū_ _Gekijō Jisatsu_ ), which is a Wind-type technique that creates a giant-cutting-sword slash and does tremendous damage. Awashima uses a powered-up version of Shiva's Yomotsu Shikome called "Shin: Yomotsu Shikome" (神・黄泉醜女, _God: Demon Women of the Underworld_ )—she uses it to absorb the power of others!

Lastly, in the crowning scene of this chapter, we find out that Konohamaru can use Sage Mode! Now, I'll dispel speculation right now: No, this is not the Sage Mode of the toads used by Naruto. This is an entirely new Sage Mode, used by Konohamaru, and in relation to the monkeys that his clan can summon to fight! How did he obtain it? What can it do? Stay tuned, you will have your answers next time!

Hope you all enjoyed! Subscribe, favorite, and review!

Until next time!

Later.


	12. Turn on True Power

_"Naruto-nīchan?" a younger Konohamaru said. "How did you do it?"_

 _"Hm? Do what?" Naruto asked cluelessly._

 _The two young genin were sitting on the outskirts of Konohagakure, watching as the villagers steadily rebuilt their homes in the aftermath of Pain's attack. After some time, Naruto had managed to get the story out of Konohamaru—the story of how he confronted Pain and successfully used the Rasengan to protect the village. Konohamaru felt an undeniable rush of pride when Naruto had congratulated him for his efforts, but he wasn't completely satisfied yet. Naruto had used some amazing powers during the battle with Pain and Konohamaru would never be satisfied until he knew all of his "big brother's" secrets._

 _"How did you beat Pain?" Konohamaru asked. "I only saw you from a distance, and you were kicking his ass, but... how did you do it_ — _Exactly?"_

 _"Hmmmmm..." Naruto scrunched up his face and put a finger on his chin as if in deep thought. "Well, I did use this thing called Sage Mode."_

 _Konohamaru's eyes lit up. "Sage Mode? That sounds super awesome! How does it work?"_

 _"Umm... Well... You kinda..."_

 _Konohamaru knew Naruto was a bit dense. The guy could do almost_ anything _, but he couldn't explain the mechanics to save his life. It took him forever to teach the young Sarutobi the Rasengan for that exact reason._

 _"Can you teach me?" Konohamaru was hopeful, but the change in Naruto's expression dashed that hope instantly._

 _"It's kinda hard to explain, but I don't think I can." Naruto replied. "Not to mention, it's really dangerous! If you don't perfectly balance your chakra and the natural energy, you could turn into a statue!"_

 _Now, Konohamaru was more confused than ever. Natural energy? A statue?! What exactly did this Sage Mode business_ entail _?! Still, he couldn't help but think of how powerful it must've made Naruto. After all, he did defeat Pain and save the village. But there was something about this Sage Mode that sounded familiar to him... He almost seemed to remember his grandfather, Hiruzen, mentioning something similar... A secret of the Sarutobi clan or something. He relayed this information to Naruto; then Naruto's expression changed again and this time it was as though a lightbulb had come on in his thick skull._

 _"I'll tell you what, Konohamaru; if you learn Sage Mode, I'll teach you a new Rasengan that I came up with!"_

 _"What?!" Konohamaru exclaimed. "How am I supposed to do that?! I don't even know how to start!"_

 _Naruto snickered, "Figure it out! There's no shortcuts if you want to become Hokage, Konohamaru."_

 _"Argh! You're just saying that because you don't know how to start_ either _!" Konohamaru barked in comic annoyance. "Fine, then! I'll figure out how to preform this Sage Mode thing and I'll make sure I become stronger than you when I do! Then I'll definitely beat you for the title of Hokage!"_

 _"Hehehehe..." Naruto chuckled. "Alright, you're on!"_

* * *

"Sorry," Konohamaru said calmly as he stared down Awashima. "I can't stay like this long, so if it's alright with you let's just skip the warm-up. Okay?"

Awashima narrowed her eyes, activating her Byakugan for the first time in a millennia. "This is... Sage Power, just like that accursed Hagoromo..." she observed. "You shinobi are Hagoromo's legacy to this world and Hagoromo himself is the legacy of my traitorous daughter. First, I will destroy you... Then all of the shinobi of this world. That is the price of their betrayal."

"I can't allow you to do that," Konohamaru countered. "The shinobi system used to be an endless cycle of hatred, however, thanks to Naruto-nīchan, and everyone who fought in the last war, we're starting to fix that. The new shinobi system is one that seeks to protect our homes and loved ones from anything that would seek to do them harm, even you. For that reason... I will stake my life on beating you!" He smiled, remembering Naruto, and said: "I won't allow you to kill even a single one of my friends!"

A noise filled the room, like a great rushing wind, and Konohamaru noticed that the shadows were moving towards him—they were converging on his location quickly, like a tsunami just before landfall. He knew what would happen then: _From what I've been able to see, that shadowy jutsu has a myriad of purposes. It can insnare and capture whomever it touches, restricting the target from movement or chakra manipulation. Furthermore, it can absorb chakra... However, it it is also a substance composed of chakra which is why Boruto's Gentle Fist was able to break it. In that case, I'll use_ _—_

「 **Saru Kata!** 」Konohamaru voiced his thought aloud, taking a stance—a posture which very much made him look like a monkey poised to strike.

The shadows descended and Konohamaru struck. Amazingly, the shadows were unable to find a firm grasp on him and even seemed to burst away from him as if they had been disintegrated by his palm thrust. Several more tendrils of shadows descended upon the young Sarutobi jōnin, but with a series of graceful movements, Konohamaru dispersed them as well. From a distance, Awashima observed Konohamaru as, again-and-again, he warded off her Shin: Yomotsu Shikome with ease. Her activated Byakugan remained narrow as she took in every detail of combat.

 _That shinobi,_ she thought. _His movements release chakra all around him at the moment of impact. This chakra is made of Sage Power, allowing him to disturb the balance of the chakra within my jutsu... That's how he's destroying them._

 _Heh,_ Konohamaru smirked to himself as he destroyed yet another advancing tendril of shadows. _Time to step up my game a bit!_

He cartwheeled backwards, avoiding another mass of shadows, his senjutsu-enhanced senses allowing him the ability to feel whenever the enemy jutsu would start to converge on him again. His nimble movements, like a monkey darting through the canopy of its forest home, made it all but impossible for Awashima's jutsu to catch him; and, once he had gained a considerable distance, he bit his thumb—drawing blood—and made a series of hand seals.

「 **Summoning Technique!** 」he declared, slamming his palm onto the dusty floor.

There was an explosion of smoke as Konohamaru's jutsu took effect and, when the smoke cleared, a new figure was standing alongside the young jōnin: the Monkey King, Enma.

"Hm?" came the Monkey King's low, rumbling voice. "Konohamaru? Why have you—"

"I don't have much time to explain," Konohamaru replied. "Please, transform into the Adamantine Staff!"

 _You're in Sage Mode!_ the Monkey King thought and was clearly surprised. _Then... That means_ —

The shadows began to converge again and Konohamaru, seeing this, took action. "Enma! Now!"

"Right!" Enma spun around and took a stance. 「 **Transformation: Adamantine Staff!** 」

There was another explosion of smoke as Konohamaru rushed forward. When he broke through the smokescreen, he was now carrying a long, black staff. The shadows of Awashima's jutsu converged, but with one long swing of the Adamantine Staff, Konohamaru blew them all away in an advanced Saru Kata maneuver. The shockwave took even Awashima by surprise, however, behind them, Shikamaru was watching all of this unfold with a subtle smirk on his face.

 _That was ingenious,_ the Nara clan head thought. _He used the Staff to extend the reach of his senjutsu chakra, allowing him to obliterate the shadows. What a troublesome technique... As he is now, Konohamaru sure is looking like... the Third Hokage!_

"Let's go, Enma!" Konohamaru was shouting in the meantime. "We're going on the offensive!"

Konohamaru didn't waste time; with a single leap, he exploded into action. The Adamantine Staff became blur as he viciously swatted away the shadows of Awashima's jutsu, which cleared him a path to his Ōtsutsuki enemy. Within seconds, he was on her and it was quickly apparent that Awashima's close combat skills were not what her long range skills were. Konohamaru unloaded a flurry of bōjutsu strikes, gracefully twirling the Staff between every maneuver, to devastating effect. Awashima was fast and normally would've been able to dodge such attacks, even at close range, but even with her Byakugan to guide her she couldn't avoid the waves of senjutsu chakra that were thrown off by the Staff. Each wave hit her like a grenade, simultaneously destroying a large portion of the stone-tomb floor beneath them.

Awashima recovered quickly, however, and began to dodge his bōjutsu with more efficiency; even his senjutsu strikes weren't enough to reach her. Konohamaru, not yet out of tricks, was quick in changing tactics. There was a subtle change in Enma's Transformation Technique as Konohamaru used his senjutsu chakra to change the Adamantine Staff into a pair of Adamantine Nunchaku. This change in form was devastating, as Konohamaru's attacks became wilder and far more unpredictable. Using Enma's ability to extend himself at will while in his Staff Mode, Konohamaru randomized his attacks, extending and retracting the nunchaku rapidly at random intervals. Both the strikes of the Staff itself, combined with the concussion waves caused by his senjutsu chakra, ravaged Awashima as she struggled to keep up with his unpredictable movements. Aiming to finish up his combo, Konohamaru rushed in for a finishing move.

The first strike connected, blasting Awashima up towards the ceiling: "Ko!"

The second strike connected, and now Awashima was half-way up the chamber: "No!"

The third strike connected, Awashima was completely dazed by the ferocity of the attacks: "Ha!"

Konohamaru was above her now, and the fourth strike hit the side of her face _hard_ : "Maru!"

With the fifth and final strike, Konohamaru swung down, wordlessly transforming the nunchaku back into the Adamantine Staff. The strike struck Awashima's skull with a sickening _CRUNCH_ sending her hurdling towards the ground. 「 **Adamantine Barrage!** 」

The resulting explosion, as Awashima hit the ground, filled the chamber with smoke and dust; the entire pyramid quaked under the devastation and the very roof of the tomb began to crumble and collapse under the stress. Through the debris, Konohamaru descended and gracefully landed a ways away from the impact crater. The attack had not been without its consequences; Konohamaru was winded and sweating, but he kept his eyes open and glued to the spot where Awashima landed, using his senjutsu chakra to sense her movements.

Nearby, Konohamaru's three students were stunned. Unable to control their shock, Sarada's mouth was hanging open while Boruto and Mitsuki looked on with wide eyes. The man they had known to be their carefree and sometimes-dense sensei was completely transformed in their eyes now.

"Konohamaru-sensei..." Sarada mumbled.

"He's... He's amazing!" Boruto quietly exclaimed.

 _This power he's using,_ Mitsuki observed silently. _It's just like my own power! Only..._ He gave Konohamaru another long look. _Only his is a lot stronger..._

"Sarada," Sasuke said suddenly, bringing the three Team Konohamaru shinobi out of their amazed daze. "Heal me, quickly."

"Eh?" Sarada said, confused.

"His attack... it was incredible but, it wasn't enough." Sasuke explained, all the while keeping his eyes trained on the spot where Awashima fell. "She'll be coming out. Heal my wounds. I want to fight."

"R-Right," Sarada replied and bent down to get to work.

Boruto, in the meantime, was once again stunned—this time by Sasuke's words. _It w-wasn't enough...?!_ he thought. _That attack was enough to kill almost_ anyone _! What kind of a monster is this chick?!_

Surely enough, Sasuke's prediction came true. Although a little wobbly, Awashima floated out of the impact crater as the dust and debris in the chamber began to clear, taking her place high above her opponent. There were scuff marks on her clothing, and her sleeves were torn in places, but the most noticeable piece of damage was that her right horn was missing, having been broken off in Konohamaru's barrage. Alarmingly to Konohamaru, the damage to her exposed skin, which clearly showed bone poking through the wounds, was healing rapidly.

"What?!" Boruto couldn't help but exclaim.

Sasuke, who was watching with calm tension, was quick to explain: "This is another one of her abilities... Just like Kaguya, she can manipulate her bone structure. During his attack, she probably infused chakra into her skeleton in order to withstand the impact of his blows. Orochimaru once had a servant that could do this kind of thing... People with such an ability can also rapidly heal. Attacks like that won't work on her..."

"No... No way..." Sarada whispered as she continued to heal her father's wounds.

Meanwhile, Konohamaru couldn't help but let slip a frustrated smirk. "Tch, if she were anybody else that would've..." he sighed. "No, I can't think that way. I don't have much more time in this form... I can't hold back!"

The dark markings around Konohamaru's eyes began to change, slowly becoming longer until they were two black stripes across the length of his face. His sclera turned a deep black and eyes his burned jade fire. Rearing back, Konohamaru tossed the Adamantine Staff towards Awashima, causing it to spin wildly like a shuriken. The Ōtsutsuki matron was unfazed by his antics and held up her palm in preparation to defend. Then, at the last moment, the staff transformed back into the Monkey King, Enma, who was holding a sphere of violently rotating chakra into his large hand.

「 **Rasengan!** 」he declared.

The sphere of chakra struck Awashima dead-center—right in her chest—and, though it didn't do any significant damage, beyond shredding that portion of her kimono, the following shockwave did throw her back a considerable distance—a worthy distraction.

 _Alright, kid._ Enma thought and time seemed to slow down for the Monkey King. _You've worked hard these long years since you've began training with me. I'd like to think your grandfather would've been proud. Like him, you really are... a true shinobi!_ _And to think,_ he chuckled to himself. _All of this started on a bet you made with Naruto. That guy... he sure has an effect on people! I leave the rest to you, kid._

There was a final explosion of smoke as Enma vanished, the Summoning Technique having reached its limit, but he had already done his part. Down below, Konohamaru had already had time to create four Shadow Clones, each preforming a different hand seal. He found it annoying that _this_ particular technique took so much preparation. His grandfather, Hiruzen, had been able to use it without a second thought, but it had taken _him_ years of training and he still had to use Sage Mode to preform it properly. Once the chakra was built up in his clones, there was no stopping them.

「 **Sage Art:** **Five Release Great Combo Technique!** 」

Each Konohamaru, the original and his four clones, released a stream of elemental attacks—each different from the rest. From left to right, the streams were Fire, Lightning, Water, Earth, and Wind Release. Shikamaru, having noticed the scope of the technique, used what little chakra he had managed to build up to instantaneously activate his Shadow Imitation Technique, capturing the nearby Konoha shinobi and forcing them to come towards where Boruto's group was gathered.

"Sasuke!" Shikamaru barked out.

Sasuke, wide-eyed but understanding, gritted his teeth and activated his Mangekyō Sharingan and Rinnegan together. Dark purple chakra burst out of Sasuke and formed two giant folded wings over the amassed group of Konoha and Suna shinobi. And not a second too soon. Just then, Konohamaru's massive attack connected and produced a devastating eruption. The size of the blast decimated the roof of the pyramid, blowing ancient debris high into the sky of the Land of Dreams. All around them, the tomb that had stood for a thousand years crumbled until it truly became a ruin of rubble. Just like that, they were out of the dark, dank tomb and back into the radiant light of the sun. From within Sasuke's Susanoo, Boruto looked around and noticed that they were still _technically_ underground, though it was no longer a tomb—just a big hole in the earth. With that, Sasuke's Susanoo extinguished and the Uchiha hissed with pain.

"There goes all the chakra I built up..." he grumbled.

"Relax, Papa." Sarada said soothingly. "Build up your chakra again and I'll keep healing you."

At the impact site, Konohamaru was panting heavily now. His clones dispersed one-by-one, having extinguished all of their clone chakra with the one attack. He kept his eyes trained on the sky, where the impact cloud was still hovering high over what used to be Awashima's tomb. Sweat poured down his face and, as much as he wanted to celebrate, he knew better—he could still sense his enemy's chakra. This battle wasn't over yet.

 _Damn,_ Konohamaru thought. _After all of that, she can still go on... She really is a monster... Naruto-nīchan... Is this what you went through when you fought against Pain?_

Before the smoke had even cleared, a piercing female voice reached out across the ample distance to Konohamaru's ears:

"Pathetic... To continue trying, human, is nothing short of suicide." Awashima said calmly; her voice sounded muffled, but the cloud had not yet cleared enough for Konohamaru to see why. "No matter how strong you have become with your Sage Power, you're still nothing but a monkey and even monkeys fall from trees."

Konohamaru managed a weak chuckled, "That may be so. But... Though I may stumble and fall from my tree..." he thought of his students—of Boruto and Sarada and Mitsuki. "...there will always be a branch full of new tree leaves to catch me! That is what it means to be a Konoha shinobi!"

 _That jutsu took up a huge quantity of my senjutsu chakra,_ Konohamaru panted. _I've only got one more attack left in me before this Mode expires. I'd better make it count._

The smoke finally cleared and, when it did, Awashima was revealed to be wrapped in a sphere of black energy. The black sphere seemed to have melted, as if the impact of Konohamaru's attack had only managed to do that much to it. The sphere continued to melt until Awashima's face, with her broken horn and frazzled auburn hair could be seen clearly in the daylight.

Watching nearby, Sasuke cursed under his breath. _Those... She defended herself by producing Truthseeker Orbs. His senjutsu chakra managed to warp them, but there wasn't enough piercing power..._

Further still, Shō, Kishima, and Shiva watched silently as their Night-Mother shrugged off another seemingly impossible-to-survive technique.

Shō chuckled to himself, "Stupid human... There's no way you can beat Mother."

Konohamaru stubbornly crossed his fingers, in preparation for another Shadow Clone Technique, despite the exhaustion he now felt seeping into his limbs. He thought back to how Naruto looked, albeit so far away, during that fateful battle against Pain. He thought about how his grandfather Hiruzen had stood up bravely against Orochimaru, during the Chūnin Exams oh so long ago, and had fought, like a shinobi, to the bitter end. He thought about his uncle, Asuma, who had died a gruesome death to protect the students that he loved so much. Finally, he thought of his students, once again, and solidified his resolve. There were two bursts of smoke as Konohamaru summoned the necessary clones and began pouring what little senjutsu chakra he had left into the palm of his hands. As he did, for a moment, his mind was transported a few years into the past to just after his promotion to jōnin.

* * *

 _"Naruto-nīchan, I finally did it!" Konohamaru exclaimed excitedly._

 _It had been a few years since their bet in the aftermath of the battle with Pain. Naruto had been inaugurated as Hokage a few months before (thanks to a timely intervention by Konohamaru himself) and Konohamaru had been promoted to jōnin the following month. Yet, despite all of these distractions (never mind the War) he had not forgotten his bet with Naruto and had been faithfully training, whenever possible, to win the bet. Naruto, who was enjoying a rare moment of relaxation out on the roof of the Academy, was puzzled by Konohamaru's sudden enthusiasm._

 _"Konohamaru?" he said hazily. "You did what?"_

 _"I won our bet!" Konohamaru shouted, balling his fists to keep the excitement from exploding out of him._

 _Naruto raised an eyebrow. Clearly, his memory didn't go as far back as Konohamaru's; in fact, Konohamaru was willing to bet that, with the exception of certain circumstances, Naruto's memory didn't go further back than his last cup of instant ramen._

 _"Well?" the Seventh Hokage asked._

 _Already annoyed, Konohamaru waved Naruto off erratically. "Just watch!"_

 _Reigning in his excitement, he shut his eyes and opened himself up to the nature around him. Slowly drawing in natural energy, Konohamaru began to feel the subtle effects of nature around him_ — _the gentle breeze, the nearby rustling of tree leaves; he felt the wildlife that called the village their home go about their days and, soon, he felt the chakra of all the people in the village around him gradually make itself apparent to his senses. As he did so, he began to mold the inflowing natural energy together with his own chakra, making sure to keep each energy perfectly in balance. Then, with a little nudge of power, black markings began to develop around his eyes. Now it was Naruto who couldn't contain his excitement:_

 _"No way!" the Hokage exclaimed. "Konohamaru... that's Sage Mode! When did you_ — _?!"_

 _"We had a bet!" Konohamaru replied. "If I was able to master Sage Mode, you promised me you'd teach me a new Rasengan!"_

 _Once again, Naruto's eyebrow went up and, puzzled, he put a finger on his chin and began to think. "Did I really say something like that?"_

 _Now Konohamaru was beyond annoyed, "Yes! You did!" he yelled comically._

 _"Well..." Naruto said, still trying to remember, but finally he gave up. "If I said something like that, I guess it can't be helped." He shrugged, which made Konohamaru's eye twitch, and launched right into an explanation. "I've got just the thing in mind. This Rasengan is super-hard to master! Probably even harder than Sage Mode! But, once you get it down, it'll probably become your best attack!"_

* * *

The area around Konohamaru had turned into a raging hurricane as wind gusted around him and the power he held in his hand. At the center of his jutsu was a Rasengan, pale blue from the chakra being poured into it. Around the central Rasengan, however, were four rapidly spinning blades—like the blades of shuriken. Konohamaru's two shadow clones dispersed, their jobs complete, and he held his new technique high above his head. Nearby, Boruto and Sasuke reacted with equal shock.

"That's..." Boruto muttered.

"...Naruto's jutsu...!" Sasuke whispered.

Overhead, Awashima observed the technique through the lens of her Byakugan. _That jutsu is a mass of rapidly spinning chakra... It probably has tremendous cutting power. It would be bad to get hit by that while I'm only at half-power..._ Awashima made a visible attempt to manipulate the black shield that surrounded her body, but found herself unable to. _The Truthseeker Orbs won't respond to my will... That guy's Sage Power... He's just as troublesome as that loathsome Hagoromo._

Konohamaru drew back his hand, 「 **Wind Release: Rasenshuriken!** 」

Thrusting the shuriken forward, he launched it through the air. The Rasenshuriken covered the distance in no time, striking the outer shell formed by Awashima's Truthseeker Orbs. The black shield didn't have a chance and was promptly cleaved in two, allowing the central sphere to slam into Awashima with tremendous force. There was another explosion, this one of powerful wind chakra, that rocked the area as if it were suddenly caught int a typhoon. Below, Boruto and the other Konoha and Suna shinobi ducked their heads as the wind raged above them. Even Konohamaru himself was forced to shield his eyes from the sudden dust and debris being kicked up by his final attack. Then, it ended as quickly as it had begun...

The last of his senjutsu chakra deleted, the markings around Konohamaru's eyes faded and he dropped to his knees, huffing with exhaustion.

"That level of Wind Release was... amazing...!" Araya, the masked Suna shinobi murmured to himself. "Even my kenjutsu techniques don't have such tremendous cutting power!"

Though Sarada was still attempting to heal his wounds, Sasuke kept his eye on the impact cloud—his Sharingan and Rinnegan surveying the damage for any signs of victory. Flakes of black chakra were still falling from the impact cloud, themselves the remnants of the Truthseeker Orbs Konohamaru had destroyed with the last fleeting bits of his senjutsu power. But, soon after, Sasuke's eyes narrowed and he gritted his teeth. There was no time for celebration. In fact, he thought silently to himself, things were about to get a whole lot worse.

Behind them some distance, Shō had also seen what Sasuke saw, using his Byakugan to pierce the cloud of smoke still hanging in the air. He smirked to himself.

From within the cloud, much to the dismay of the shinobi below, a female voice emerged:

"Have you had your fun, human?"

Konohamaru could only huff in exhausting while staring up defiantly at the cloud from which the voice came.

"Good." said Awashima, finally coming into view. Her kimono was in tatters. Her body was scared and lacerated, and she was missing her front-most horn now as well; but, otherwise, she was unharmed.

 _How...?!_ Sarada, watching this unfold with her Sharingan, mentally exclaimed.

Even Shikamaru was appalled by this development, "That's... She's... Unstoppable."

A sinister smirk crawled across Awashima's pale face, "Now then... It's my turn to go on the offensive."

* * *

 **A/N:** And there you have it! I genuinely hope you guys enjoy reading this chapter as much as I enjoyed writing it. Obviously, I enjoyed writing it quite a bit because it's only been a day since I last released a chapter. There's more epic moments to come as this arc comes to its stunning climax! Stay tuned! And now, we'll discuss some of the new terms used!

In Sage Mode, Konohamaru's fighting style is known as "Saru Kata" (猿型, _Monkey Style_ ). He takes the stance of a monkey and uses natural energy-enhanced maneuvers to absolutely devastate his opponents. The next one is the "Konohamaru Adamantine Barrage" (木ノ葉丸金剛連弾, _Konohamaru Kongō Rendan_ ), which Konohamaru based on Naruto's Naruto Uzumaki Barrage, and includes a series of powerful blows with the Adamantine Staff. That's it for the new stuff! The other attacks are all established in the manga.

We also learn in this chapter that Enma can preform Rasengan, which he picked up while he was teaching Konohamaru Sage Mode. It's implied in the chapter, but I wanted to make that absolutely clear here, so that there was no speculation. Finally, there is Awashima's line "Even a monkey falls from a tree." This is actually a Japanese proverb さるもきからおちる ( _saru mo ki kara ochiru),_ which has the same meaning as the English phrase, "everyone makes mistakes."

That's all I have for additional information! Again, I hope you all enjoyed! Favorite, follow, and review!

Until the next one.

Later!


	13. Konohamaru Sarutobi

_There are no shortcuts to becoming Hokage, Konohamaru._

"..."

 _Oi, Konohamaru! C'mere! I want to show you my latest jutsu!_

"..."

 _Yatta! You did it! I told you could do it, Konohamaru!_

"...Naruto-nī..."

 _Konohamaru! I heard you made Chūnin! I guess that means I can show you this now...!_

"...Naruto... I..."

 _You're going to be a Jōnin, now? As the Hokage, I guess that means you'll be working directly under me! Just like old times, huh?_

"...I... will not..."

 _Konohamaru? You're teaching Boruto's team, right? Imagine that. Heh heh heh! Now you're the boss! I wouldn't have it any other way!_

"I... absolutely will not... _let you down_!"

Fighting against the overwhelming exhaustion that had overcome him after losing Sage Mode, Konohamaru forced his way to his feet. Sweat seemed to be pouring from every pore on his body, but he didn't allow that to hinder him. His senjutsu might have run out, but he could still feel the chakra burning in his stomach. So long as he had chakra, he could still fight. He weakly clasped his hands together, pooling his chakra into the center of his being. There wasn't enough left for a prolonged fight and he knew ordinary jutsu would be swatted away like a fly by this Awashima character. He would need a big attack then... Bigger than even his Rasenshuriken. Perhaps it still wouldn't work, but at least...

"Didn't you hear me, human?" Awashima's voice cut through his concentration. "I believe I just said it was my turn."

Despite the odds, Konohamaru managed a chuckle, "In your dreams..." he coughed.

Nearby, the gathered group of recovering Konoha shinobi watched with a mixture of horror and amazement as Konohamaru built up what remained of his chakra for a final attack. Having noticed the desperation in her teacher's eyes, Sarada focused as much chakra as she could into healing her father. As far as she was concerned, he was the only hope they had of defeating the ruthless Ōtsutsuki woman. Likewise, Boruto stood alongside his mother, the both of them using their Byakugan to assess the battle. Sweat was beading along Boruto's forehead. While the others could sense how weak Konohamaru had become after that last attack, he could _see_ it. That his teacher was still standing was a testament to his resolve.

"How much longer can he go on?" Boruto found himself voicing aloud. "Konohamaru-sensei... He's strong but that hag over there is _stronger_."

Hinata looked on helplessly. Her chakra was also recovering slowly and, though she wanted to help, she knew she would only end up getting in Konohamaru's way at this point. With a defeated sigh, she said: "I'm not sure."

Awashima also watched Konohamaru build up chakra with her own Byakugan. Her look was stoic but she was fast growing tired of the younger man's attempts to defeat her. He must have, by now, realized the difference in their powers. Even now, at only half of her full strength, she existed on an entirely different plane from him. For a moment, she pondered letting the feeble human exhaust the last remnants of his chakra, but quickly decided against it. She would stick with her original plan: he needed to be dealt with. Now. Putting her head down, Awashima's long hair flared out behind her as she launched herself through the air towards her barely-standing opponent.

Konohamaru reacted as quickly as he could, crossing his fingers to produce a single clone. This clone took Awashima's attack head on, bursting out of existence mere seconds after its creation, but that was all the time Konohamaru needed to begin weaving signs. Snake, Boar, Ram, Rabbit, Dog... Awashima recovered, adjusted her sights on Konohamaru, and charged again. Rat, Bird, Horse, Snake...

"Sensei! Look out!" Sarada couldn't help but shout as Awashima descended. She clamped her eyes shut. She couldn't bear to watch anymore.

 _Those seals...!_ Sasuke thought as he continued to watch. _Is he...?!_

Konohamaru clapped his hands together, then immediately thrust them back out, catching the charging woman by her shoulders. The remnants of her head-horns were only inches away from his flack jacket. No doubt, had his timing been even a second off, she would've impaled him then and there. With what remained of his strength, Konohamaru tightened his grip on Awashima and activated his jutsu.

"This..." he huffed in exhaustion. "This.. is it! _Dead Demon Consuming Seal!_ "

The air in the hollowed out crater that was once Awashima's tomb suddenly became stale and very, very cold. Slowly, like ghostly mist, a figure began to materialize directly behind Konohamaru. The figure was horrific, with a demonic face and a mouth full of razor sharp teeth. Two black horns protruded from its head and, much like the Ōtsutsuki around them, it had waist-length shaggy white hair. The specter's skin was blood red and it wore a white gown—the gown of death. A sickening laugh peeled towards the sky from the creature's black lips. The Shinigami had arrived.

Already, Konohamaru felt the demon slowly draining him of his remaining life force. He weakly turned his head and beheld the horrifying creature for the first time. _Grandfather... So this is what you saw in your last moments..._

The spectators behind Konohamaru were privy to the fact that _something_ was happening, but only the ones with dōjutsu could see it. Sarada, who had reopened her eyes, look frightened. Boruto's mouth was agape in awe. Both Hinata and Sasuke gritted their teeth—only they, at the moment, knew the terrible truth behind the specter's appearance.

"What... Just... what the hell _is_ that thing?!" Sarada managed, her Sharingan revealing the creature's chakra.

"The Shinigami..." Sasuke said. "He's going to seal her."

Having already deduced this from Konohamaru's hand seals, Shikamaru, overhearing this, shut his eyes and bowed his head. There were no words he could offer to make this right. And, with his chakra so depleted, he simply couldn't help his old friend.

Boruto, on the other hand, was rendered clueless by the Shinigami's appearance. "Shinigami? Seal? What's he doing, Uncle Sasuke?"

"It's a powerful seal," Hinata answered instead. "One makes a contract with the Shinigami and seals the soul of their target into the demon's stomach for all eternity."

Confused by his mother's look of horror, Boruto pressed on: "But, that's a good thing, right?"

"No," came Sasuke's voice, cold and harsh. "The price for such a contract... For using that powerful seal... is that the user must be sealed away along with it."

Boruto felt all of the blood drain out of his face. Even Mitsuki, who rarely showed emotion, looked pale and wide-eyed. Sarada felt tears well up in her eyes and, with her free hand, she covered her mouth to hold back the sobs. It was Sasuke that snapped the three of them out of their crying fit.

"That's _enough!_ " he barked. "Dry your tears and face forward. Do not feel sorry for yourselves or for him. Honor his sacrifice by watching his last moments."

Meanwhile, Konohamaru, still gripping Awashima's shoulders, attached his chakra to hers and called forth the demon. A cursed seal began to spread down the creature's arms and then it reached down towards Konohamaru's back. He felt pain like a hot iron surge through his body as the spirit's hand pushed into his back and then through his chest to connect with Awashima. The damage was physical and he both tasted blood and felt it trickling down his chin. That part was done, now the rest was up to him. Her soul and chakra were both strong. He doubted he would have the physical strength to pull it out, but he was determined to try until his last breath. Awashima, on the other hand, was finally connected to the seal and could now see the Shinigami clearly. Her eyes widened, veins bulging as her Byakugan tried to access the demonic specter that now held onto them both.

"You...?!" she breathed, shocked and enraged.

"Heh... he...heheheh..." Konohamaru managed weakly, coughing up another thick wad of blood. "I... I may be nothing... b-b-but a m-monkey to y-y-you, but... Back home... I-I'm one of the r-red tree l-leaves providing nutrients for the o-o-ones about to b-bloom." He cast a weak glance behind him. His eyes already felt heavy but he forced them to remain open, drinking in one last sight of his students before turning back to face his fate against the she-devil. "Those over t-there...?" He saw Awashima briefly glance over his shoulder at them. "They're j-j-just about to b-bloom. It's the beginning of the c-c-crimson spring...!"

Awashima's face contorted in rage and she responded by using her chakra to activate her bone structure. Several sharp bones shot out of her shoulders like daggers and tore through the flesh and tendons Konohamaru's trembling hands. Konohamaru cried out in pain, and blood trickled down his hands, but adrenaline soon began to rush through him and the pain went away along with it. He held his grip with everything that he had. Then, using the strength left in his body, he began to will the Shinigami's hand to move, slowly dragging the woman's soul out of her body.

"That's not good," Shō, who was observing in accordance with the Night Mother's mandate, observed. "If that little shinobi cretin drags out her soul, centuries of work will have gone to waste."

"He cannot do it," Shiva replied. She was watching with her Byakugan. "His strength is already failing."

"Maybe," Shō countered. "But I don't like to take chances."

"You heard Mother's warning," Kishima joined in. "We are not to interfere."

"Like I said," Shō grunted, preparing for flight. "I don't like taking chances."

Leading the charge, Shō burst into flight and flew straight at Konohamaru. Shiva and Kishima, seeing no other option, followed suit and gave chase. Sasuke, however, had noticed their movement and was quick to take action. Activating both his Rinnegan and his Mangekyō Sharingan, he generated three skeletal arms of Susanoo—each grabbed an Ōtsutsuki midair and slammed them into the earth below.

"Papa!" Sarada cried out. "Your chakra!"

Sasuke was visibly straining. His chakra still hadn't recovered and he was fighting with everything he had to maintain the jutsu. "I won't let you interfere!" he barked at the three Ōtsutsuki. Then he turned his gaze back on the rest of the Konoha shinobi. "Everyone! Pool what chakra you still have and channel it into me! We've got to hold them until the jutsu is complete!"

"Damn, _Sasuke_...!" Shō cursed.

One-by-one, the shinobi who had any chakra to offer at all—including Boruto, Sarada, Mitsuki, Hinata, and Kiba, along with several of the others—laid hands on Sasuke and began to give whatever they could to Sasuke. The result was nearly instantaneous. The dark aura surrounding Sasuke's Susanoo flared and the three arms suddenly grew "muscle" and "skin". Using his newfound strength, he tightened the Susanoo's grip on the three Ōtsutsuki. _You three aren't going anywhere,_ he thought bitterly. He briefly looked back at his comrades and then ahead at Konohamaru who was still struggling with Awashima. _This,_ a younger Naruto's voice echoed across time into the back of Sasuke's mind. _Is the history of shinobi!_

Konohamaru was exhausted. He had managed to pull out a sizable chunk of Awashima's soul, but his strength was at its limits. Gritting her teeth, Awashima was beginning to resist and even pull her soul _back_. But Konohamaru quieted the quivering in his legs and held strong. _This seal is taking everything from me,_ he thought despite the sweat that was practically pouring off of him now. _I must go on... I must... for just.. a moment... longer...!_ With renewed determination, Konohamaru pushed the last bit of his chakra into the jutsu and began to tug again. Now his fate was truly sealed. If the Shinigami didn't claim him, the loss of his last ounce of chakra would. It wouldn't matter either way, so he put every ounce of his willpower into success.

For the first time since her rebirth, and before that since her battle with Hagoromo, Awashima began to panic. The shinobi bug was weak, yet he had managed to pull out almost half of her soul. She felt her limbs begin to go numb and portions of her chakra becoming unresponsive. She knew she had to act quickly; this seal was different than the one Hagoromo used on her. If she fell to this one, there was a chance she wouldn't escape _ever_. Formulating a plan, she used whatever chakra would respond and began forcing it into her broken forehead horn.

"You called yourself a tree leaf..." she bit out as she continued to focus her remaining power. "The spirit and vitality of dead tree leaves empower the new buds growing in their place. That's what you said... but... if I can't kill the leaves... **_I'll just kill the whole tree!_** "

Manipulating the bone structure in her forehead, she forced her horn to regrow. Then, with added chakra, Awashima forced the horn to extend—essentially transforming it into a jagged bone-blade—which shredded through Konohamaru's flack jacket, pierced his heart, and burst through his back in a bloody explosion. Konohamaru's expression said it all. His eyes were wide, pupils small, blood was trickling down his chin, and his skin was nearly as white as Awashima's own. By piercing his heart, Awashima had disturbed his jutsu. His strength gone, her soul returned to its rightful place, restoring to her strength and vitality. The jutsu faded and, along with it, so did the Shinigami. Using her bone manipulation ability, she retracted her horn with a sickening _SLURP_ and allowed the lifeless jōnin's body to fall. Her horn still dripped with his blood, causing a few streams of said blood to trickle down her pale face. When a bead of blood touched her lips, she stuck out her tongue and swiped it away.

"My only regret," Awashima's voice was low and cold. "Was that there was no chakra in you to take back."

 _Naruto-nī..._ Konohamaru's final thoughts were fleeting. _Sorry... I won't be able... to fill your shoes... this time._

He tried to gather his thoughts, but his mind was already beginning to let go.

 _Boruto... Sarada... Mitsuki... The rest is up to you..._

Shocked, Boruto watched as the last ounce of his teacher's life slipped away. When he hit the ground, Konohamaru Sarutobi was dead.

"No...!" Sarada shrieked. "No... Not like this...!"

"Sen...sei...?!" Mitsuki breathed.

"Such a death is fitting of a shinobi," Awashima said, licking another bead of blood off of her lips. "All of the loathsome legacy of Hagoromo and my treacherous daughter, Kaguya, shall face the same fate."

That, as it would happen, was more than Boruto could handle. He couldn't tell what the source of it was. His chakra was almost extinguished from what he offered to Sasuke earlier. But, suddenly, there was a burst of power—like hot magma rushing from underground to explode onto the surface. The rush of chakra began to physically effect Boruto. His whisker markings, inherited from his father, grew more feral. There was pain in his gums as his incisors began to drop and sharpen. He felt his hair go rigid and then his eyes became almost reptilian in appearance—complete with a pigment change from blue to crimson. Before long, he could no longer contain the power (and the rage) building in his heart. He roared, allowing all of the anger and power to escape at once.

There was an explosion of crimson energy that tore through the sky. A pillar of red energy was left in its place—one which drew the winds and clouds into a spiraling cyclone around it. The heated chakra escaping Boruto's body began to heat up the air, causing it to sear those too close to him. Hinata leaped away from him with a yelp of pain; the chakra was just too intense. Boruto's chakra saturated the air, causing it to become dense and heavy. The feeling of that chakra began to cause both Mitsuki and Sarada to feel sick to their stomachs.

 _Just what is this chakra?!_ Sarada thought.

Sasuke watched on in astonishment. _This feels like...?! But it can't be! He's not a jinchūriki!_

Boruto's transformation continued: His sclera turned black as night and two black lines seemed to form beneath his eyes down the length of his face. With purposeful steps, Boruto moved in front of the astonished group of Konoha shinobi, releasing a burst of super-heated wind which filled the chamber with the sound of a freight train.

Awashima herself looked on in astonishment, _This child's chakra... It resembles_ —

Her thoughts were cut off by Boruto, who now was standing directly beside the fallen form of his dead teacher. He glared at her with a predatory gaze and declared in an almost demonic voice: "I'm gonna kill you!"

* * *

 **A/N:** Wow, sorry for the delay you guys! I didn't intend to put this chapter off for almost two weeks—I certainly didn't intend for it to be so short. But, I have a motto: a chapter only needs to be as long as it takes to get the point across, and I believe this one does just that. So, short will have to be short. That being said, I do hope you guys enjoyed this one. Another death, which is certainly tragic. But what the heck is going on with Boruto? Well, time will tell! Next chapter will certainly give you some hints, though, so stay tuned for that! Is this newfound power of Boruto's enough to ward off Awashima? Or will he just end up like his late Sensei? All of that and more in the next installment! No new techniques to explain or announce this time, but maybe next time!

Hope you all enjoyed.

Until the next one, folks!

Later.


End file.
